


New Emissaries REDUX

by Eienias20



Series: New Emissaries [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Adventure, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, F/M, Story Arcs, globetrotting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-19
Updated: 2015-08-19
Packaged: 2018-04-05 04:11:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 38
Words: 187,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4165323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eienias20/pseuds/Eienias20
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a long peace on Tellius, Ike and the Greil Mercenaries make the decision to leave their homeland and explore the rest of the world to see what other lands thrived after the Great Flood. New allies join their cause and they come face to face with deadly enemies, all as the Emissaries of Tellius.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Seeds of a New Adventure

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published on my 16th birthday August 19th 2008. Fire Emblem New Emissaries was my first serious dive into long fanfictions, the story's finale was written November 12th 2011, story capping at 52 chapters and 100,000 words.  
> Now, I've gotten much better at writing and my sequel (on fanfiction) titled New Emissaries Ymarkteg is superior in every single way, as such I've decided to revisit my original story and rewrite it to bring it on par and hopefully from reading this one more people will want to continue onto Ymarkteg.  
> This is going to be quite the effort but I truly hope as always, readers will enjoy my story.

_The Departure Arc_

**Prologue - Seeds of a New Adventure**

Eighteen months ago the land of Tellius ended its war against the Goddess, since then the newly formed alliances and trusts between all the nations has grown immensely.

Many warriors became legends for their acts in the Dawn War, but none of them were as renowned as the Hero of the Blue Flames: Ike.

Never one to let the recognition and praise get to him, Ike and the Greil Mercenaries returned to their normal duties in Crimea, to most the world it seemed like the Dawn War had no effect on them, but after all they’ve been through the Mercenaries were the best at adapting to living life again, despite the madness that came before.

Outside his fort, Ike crossed his arms and looked to the sky, for about a while now he’s had this desire, this almost impossible to ignore urge to do…something.

Something rather drastic.

“Ike. Again?”

Turning, Ike smiled as Soren approached, nodding at the archsage “Why are you so surprised?”

“You’ve been thinking this whole week more than I’ve seen you think in the last five years…it’s unusual.”

“Are you saying I don’t think over our battle plans?”

“I’m saying you don’t think over anything this much…and I’m the one that formulates our battle plans.”

Ike laughed at that before looking back to the sky “Soren…I’m telling you this because I know I can.”

“What’s that?”

“I want to leave.”

“…leave?”

Ike nodded “Leave…Tellius.”

“Where would you go?”

“Soren, y’know all those stories about the Great Flood. What if Tellius wasn’t the only land that survived? What if there are other places out there that we never knew about. Lands we’ll never see if we stay here?”

Sighing Soren shook his head “Do you want us to become peaceful emissaries of Tellius? Going to other lands and telling of our land?”

“I want to foster a bond with the world…why shouldn’t I?”

Looking to the sky, Soren shrugged “Don’t know…but I don’t like hearing all this I, what of the rest of us.”

“That should be up to all of you.”

Nodding Soren tapped his chin “I suppose…”

“So, I’m going to form a speech of sorts and tell all the Mercenaries here about my idea, see who agrees. If they want to go, we’ll go. If not they can stay. I won’t force anyone to leave their home.”

At that Ike turned and began walking towards the fort, followed by Soren.

“Not everyone is in the fort right now.”

“I know, Rhys is close by and Oscar’s at the capital, it’ll be easy to get to them, Mia on the otherhand is on one of her training trips, we can-“

“Actually. I know exactly where she is.”

At that, Ike came to a stop and looked at Soren, raising an eyebrow “How would you know that.”

“She told me.”

“…why would? Well, I guess it doesn’t matter, go speak with her and ask her what she thinks of all this, think you can do it?”

Soren nodded at that “Of course. I’ll meet you back here in a few days.”

“Soren…you don’t think I’m being rash? Do you?”

At that Soren chuckled “Of course you are being rash but that’s you Ike. Honestly given the state Tellius is in, I think we can do more good for the world out there.”

Ike nodded at that “Indeed. Alright then…seems like we have a whole new adventure laid out before us. Is it too early to think about where this will take us?”

“Yes Ike, far too early.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really hope I captured your interest. I am having a blast writing this.  
> As I side note on my youtube channel CondorK92 I am LPing Sacred Stones and Final Fantasy IX so feel free to drop by.


	2. Will You Join Me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soren starts his trip to find Mia and comes across many familiar faces while Ike speaks with the rest of his Mercenaries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's amazing how different this is than the first one. If you've read the first one some character elements might stay the same like Dirty Traitor A still being Dirty Traitor A but the scenarios are all different.  
> Also if you want to read the original version to read ahead I wouldn't recommend it, sure you'd read all the twists and see who dies but the quality is not there. I'll always love the story but its overly cheesy and the dialogue is not very good.

**Chapter 1 - Will You Join Me?**

In his room, Soren picked up a letter, the latest letter her received from Mia.

As he turned to leave he noticed the stone on his desk.

That arrived in the mail quite some time ago, he knew what it was but was still on the fence of whether or not he should…use it.

Grabbing it he glanced at the note it came with.

_When you’re ready, let me know._

That’s all it said, all the logic in Soren’s mind told him to tear the note apart and destroy the stone, but he couldn’t, something else was stopping him.

Shaking his head he left his room with a pack holding his necessities. Coming to a stop he groaned before going back, taking the stone and leaving the room, for real this time.

“Soren? Where are you going at this time?”

Turning he spotted Mist “Ohma.”

“Ohma? Again…at this time?”

“It’s a task from Ike, I’ll be fine.”

“Alone.”

Soren still wasn’t used to this, since the end of the Dawn War he opened himself up at a certain person’s insistence and since then most of the Mercenaries have grown more comfortable with talking to him, he however…

“Mist, it’s late you should be sleeping.”

Mist laughed at that “You are not much older than I am Soren!”

Sighing he continued on his way “I’ll be back in a few days, don’t worry about me.”

“If you’re sure…have a safe trip, Soren.”

* * *

“What do you think?”

At his silence, Titania sighed “I don’t know…it’s a tall order, that’s for sure.”

“I’m not forcing it on anyone.”

“I know you aren’t…it’s still so…I mean, leaving Tellius?”

Ike nodded “If you don’t want to go-“

“If you think I’m going to let you sail around the world without me, you’ve got another thing coming.”

Ike laughed at that “Are you certain Titania?”

Nodding, Titania smiled “You know it Commander.”

“Alright then, let’s-“

“Ah, the speech, needs work.”

Ike scratched the back of his head “Right…right…”

* * *

“Soren?”

“Hm? Oh…hello Aimee.”

Soren didn’t even notice the merchant cart coming down the road, the woman smiled at him before asking Muston to bring the cart to a halt.

“What are you doing so far from the Mercenary fort alone?”

“It’s a long story, I’m on my way to Ohma.”

“On foot? Oh no, no, no, no. Absolutely not, come with us, we’re headed that way.”

Soren wanted to turn her offer down but he knew it wouldn’t take as long for Ike to get word to Rhys and Oscar “Thank you, Aimee.”

“Oh…manners…I’m not going to get used to that.”

Hopping in the back Soren was greeted by Jorge, Daniel and Ilyana.

“Hello Soren.”

“Ilyana. Still studying magic?” He noted the book in her hand.

“Of course…aren’t you the same?”

“Yes, I just assumed you had no more use for it.”

At that she smiled “Well, when someone on the road gets testy and wants to try to hold us up, that’s why I’m here.”

Soren nodded at that, pitying whatever thief thought smart to attack a cart with a mage who could literally bring down the thunder.

* * *

 

“Shinon! Gatrie! Ike’s callin for us!”

At that Shinon turned on his hammock to see Rolf, spitting out the stem in his mouth he called back “Tell him will be in when we feel like it!”

“He said it’s urgent!”

“By the goddess…”

Shinon groaned before sitting up “Gatrie.”

“I heard…but…Shinon, the whole ‘by the goddess’ thing doesn’t really work anymore.”

“I know…what else am I supposed to say for fuck’s sake…”

“That’s better.”

“I was…oh, whatever.”

Once inside, Shinon glanced around, everyone was there except for Rhys, Oscar, Mia and oddly enough Soren. Titania was at Ike’s side as always but where was the tactician?

“Thanks everyone for coming…I have something…”

Ike fell silent looking out over his Mercenaries before starting “This peace Tellius is experience is golden. Is it eternal? No but…it may very well last for the remainder of our years. I’m sure no one has any real complaints this last year and a half right?”

Everyone nodded “Well…I’ve had this…thing I’ve wanted to do since, well if I’m being honest with myself, since the Dawn War ended. This journey I’ve wanted to go on. Away from Tellius.”

“Away from Tellius? There is nothing out there!” Boyd called out.

“Nothing that we know of. True there may be absolutely nothing out there but at the same time what if there is life out there. If that’s the case…I want to find it and I would love for all of you to accompany me. But if you don’t want to, you are welcome to stay here, I’m not going to force any of you to go out to sea for who knows how long.”

There was a bit of scattered muttering amongst the group before Ike added “I’m going out to ask Rhys and Oscar about this, it should take me a few days. Until then, think about it, remember this is about you, if you want to come along feel free but it you want to stay here, I will not hold it against you.”

With that, Ike bowed to the group before walking off with Titania.

“Well…that was not at all what I was expecting.” Gatrie muttered, “What about you Shinon? Shinon?”

Upon turning, Gatrie noted that the marksman was gone.

* * *

 

“Thanks for the lift. Hope the roads stay safe for you.” Soren bowed as the Merchant Caravan continued on its way.

“Alright…now-“

“Soren!”

Turning, Soren had no time to react as a woman embraced him.

Pulling away, she stuttered “M-mighty sorry about that Soren, I just wasn’t expecting you…it’s been a while a-and-“

“It’s alright Nephenee, good to see you…”

“Want to…come to my home?”

Nodding Soren fell into step next to her “How is it not living with the family?”

“It’s not like they’re a country away though it is odd not waking up to my brothers’ noise.”

“…Nephenee, I hate to be forward but is Mia here?”

“Mia?”

“Neph! And…Soren?”

The pair turned as Heather approached “Well howdy Charmer, what brings you here?”

“Heather. I was actually looking for Mia. The last letter I received said that she was visiting you two.”

“Three.” Heather corrected as the three arrived at their home.

“Three?”

Before Soren could correct himself the door opened and a young girl ran out, embracing Nephenee “Mommy!”

“Leia! Well how are you? How has it been with Heather?” Nephenee asked, lifting the little girl.

As she spoke rather excitedly, Soren’s eyes remained on her before moving to the expression Nephenee wore and finally landing on Heather.

“Did you forget about our daughter Soren?”

“Sorry, my minds been on…something else.”

“Care to come in and talk about it?”

At Heather’s statement, Soren wanted to say no, he had to find Mia but at the same time, maybe talking about it would clear things up. So he entered the small but happy family’s home.

* * *

“Ike.”

Turning from his horse Ike spotted Shinon “What is it?”

“What do you think you’re doing trying to get rid of me?”

“What?”

“I mean, I know I’ve annoyed you all these years but leaving Tellius? That’s a little extreme.”

“Shinon-“

“I mean, I never imagined you for such a wimp, poke and prod a little bit and all of a sudden you want to skip not just town but entire continent. C’mon man.”

“I-“

“Well it’s not going to work.”

Ike raised an eyebrow, looking at Shinon’s smirk “What do you mean?”

“I’m going with you, if I don’t whose going to take the piss out of you eh?”

With a smile Ike approached Shinon and held out his hand, after a few seconds, Shinon shook it “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it…seriously, don’t, now go on, go get the other guys.”

With that, Ike got on his mount and took off, while he didn’t completely expect that it also feels like it was always going to happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Nephenee and Heather family, hoping to write another story in the Cerulean Gold-verse in the future focusing on them and their daughter in that universe Jane.


	3. Meeting Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ike and Soren catch up with old friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason whenever I paste the chapter from my word doc into the Chapter Text, it all gets italicized...why?

**Chapter 2 - Meeting Again**

"New lands?” Heather sat back and whistled “Wow…that’s nuts.”

“When are you all leaving?” Nephenee asked.

Soren shrugged “Not entirely sure yet. Though I don’t think we’re going to make a big deal out of it…I don’t even know if I should be telling you but it’s weighing on me.”

“Why?” The three turned to Leia.

“Leia, you should be in bed.” Nephenee stated.

“It’s alright…though honestly I’m not sure why. I’m going, I know that for sure. I’m out here to ask Mia if she wants to come along and yet…”

As he trailed off, Heather picked up Leia and gestured to Nephenee.

“We were going to send this in the mail but since you’re here, this is Mia’s latest letter, telling you where she’s headed.”

Soren thanked them and stood up.

“You don’t have to go now do you?” Heather asked.

Soren looked to the door then back to Nephenee, Heather and little Leia.

“No…I don’t have to.

* * *

“Yes come in…hello-Ike?”

Ike nodded “Rhys, good to see you.”

“What brings you here?”

“Well…”

* * *

“Knock knock?”

Looking around, Ranulf scratched the back of his head, where was everyone.

As he was about to call out, Titania appeared “Ranulf? Why are you here?”

“Y’know I always make time to visit you guys.”

“Oh…of course, we’re all preparing for something so…kind of unexpected.”

“Preparing for what?”

“Well, to summarize, we’re all leaving Tellius.”

At that Ranulf tilted his head before delivering a deadpan “What?”

* * *

“In all my years I never really thought about what could be out there…though I can see why the War and everything brought that to the forefront of your mind.”

Ike nodded to Rhys “I’m going to the capital to speak with Oscar, I’ll stop by on my way back for an answer, I want everyone to have enough time to think.”

Ike stood to leave before hearing “Ike.”

Stopping he looked to Rhys who stood as well “I don’t need any time to decide.”

“Rhys…are you sure?”

“Yes…I’ll always appreciate all the time I spent with the Greil Mercenaries but opening this school, teaching these children. I feel…at peace…like I’ve found what I want to do…inspire our land’s future.”

Ike smiled “That’s fitting for you…”

Approaching the Saint, Ike held out his hand “I wish you the best Rhys.”

Shaking his hand the man spoke with a smile “And I you, Commander.”

-

“Ike doesn’t know that you’ve all decided to leave already?”

“Nope, without Soren organization leaves a bit to be desired but we’re doing our best.”

Ranulf nodded “How are you planning on leaving Tellius?”

“…by ship?”

“I know that but…is there going to be a big ‘farewell Greil Mercenaries’ or what?”

Titania shook her head “No. Ike assured us he would take care of that while he was talking with Oscar. We don’t have a ship arranged for us yet but we’ll get to that.”

Ranulf tapped his chin “I think I can help you with that.”

* * *

“Good morning Soren! Waffle?”

He looked at the table, Leia was eating and chatting away with Nephenee about any little thing while Heather gestured the food towards Soren.

“I really should go…”

“Soren. This might be the last time we get to do something like this. Please.”

Looking to Nephenee then back to Heather, he nodded “Very well.”

* * *

“…and then! And only then will I cease my attempts to best you! Only then!”

Oscar laughed as Kieran continued to jump around him and gesture dramatically.

“Of course Kieran, I expect no less.”

“And I expect no less from my eternal rival! Now come! Let us spar!”

“Oscar.”

The pair turned to see Ike.

“Commander!” Approaching him, Oscar bowed “I was going down to the fort in a few days, what brings you here?”

“Urgent matters.”

“What happened!?”

At his panic, Ike chuckled “Nothing bad…I’m just planning to leave Tellius and take whoever from the Mercenaries want to go, I’m here to ask you if you want to come along.”

“Leave…Tellius…”

“Absolutely not!”

The pair turned to Kieran “Oscar if you think I’m going to allow you to leave the continent in an attempt to break out rivalry, you have another thing coming!”

Oscar turned to Ike “Let me handle this.”

“Alright, I have one other person I need to speak to.”

With that Ike took his leave as Oscar faced Kieran, picking up his lance.

“Oscar?”

“Kieran. I challenge you to a true rival battle…if you win I will stay…if I win, I will do as I wish.”

Kieran raised his axe and roared “Very well! My eternal rival Oscar! May the clashes of our battle reverberate through the very heavens and shake the land to its core! Have at you!”

* * *

“This has been…nice…thank you, Nephenee, Heather…Leia.”

The three nodded to Soren as he stood. One by one they embraced him “Tell Mia…tell Mia I’ll miss her.” Nephenee whispered to Soren.

He knew how close the two of them were, best friends barely covered it.

“I will…”

“See ya, Charmer.”

“Bye-bye Soren!”

With a bow he left the home and continued on his way.

* * *

“Ike!”

Standing, the Queen rushed over to him and embraced him “It is so wonderful to see you.”

“You as well, Elincia.”

“I imagine you are here to discuss something vital? You usually send message ahead for when you are going to visit.”

“Well, I felt that of everyone I fought alongside, you above all deserve to know what I’m planning.”

“And what are you planning?” Elincia asked as the pair neared her throne.

“I’m departing Tellius with whoever of the Mercenaries wish to come with me to explore the rest of the world.”

“…truly?”

“Yes.”

Elincia chuckled, causing Ike to raise an eyebrow “Not what I was expecting.”

“Believe it or not Ike, I’ve been thinking about employing a troop of mine, possibly led by Bastian given his tongue to spread the word of our land to the rest of the world…it’s just that presenting the idea to a council is always met with such uncertainty and worry…”

“Well if you don’t mind, I’d gladly take on the diplomatic mission. We’ll be out there already so why not?”

“You want to be Tellius’ Emissaries?”

“Why not? Making friends with other nations is never a bad thing.”

Elincia nodded “No…it isn’t…”

The two remained still, smiling at one another “Ike…I feel it necessary to say thank you.”

“For?”

“Everything.”

* * *

On the dirt road Soren walked he noted the trees at either side, every once in a while he heard a loud series of movements.

Tightening his grip on his knife he came to a halt.

Turning rapidly he threw it only for it to be deflected.

Leaping back the figure struck earth before darting away. As Soren skidded to a halt he smirked.

Standing straight he turned his head slightly “I know you’re behind me.”

“Really?”

“Definitely now.”

“Aw.”

Turning fully he came face to face with Mia. She smiled wide at him, as always and he couldn’t help but smile back.

_“Beautiful as ever…where did that come from?”_

Mia approached and embraced him “Hey Soren.”

Hugging her back, he replied “Hey Mia.”


	4. On Our Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soren goes looking for answers with Mia while all groups head for Gallia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One thing I remember saying in the original story is, I don't think Soren could go years without saying a word to Mia or any Mercenary in general, so while I don't think its OOC at all for him to be a little more talkative right now, I do want to 'go back' and show some bonding later.  
> Also as of now i have a tumblr! Name there is same as here Eienias20!

**Chapter 3 - On Our Way**

“Oscar…you have…bested me…”

Kieran fell to the ground, while Oscar kneeled near him breathing hard “You were no easy opponent.”

“Were you truly trying your best?”

“Yes…as I’m sure you were…you really are my rival.”

Kieran looked up to Oscar before bursting into frightfully loud crying.

Ike approached the pair as Oscar consoled Kieran “Oscar, I’m on my way, when-“

“I’ve already made my decision.”

Standing he helped Kieran up “I’m going with you.”

“You’ll show the world Oscar, there is no better knight out there! I know it!” Kieran proclaimed.

Ike approached and shook Kieran’s hand before gesturing for Oscar to join him.

“Goodbye my eternal rival!”

“Farewell, Kieran! Do your best here, who knows maybe there is another battle between us in the future.”

“For that I will train every day!” Kieran called out as the pair walked away, he watched them until he could no longer see them.

* * *

“Soren, not that I don’t like seeing you, why are you tracking me?”

The pair sat at the side of the road, Mia watching Soren intently who was determined to not look at her.

“I’m not tracking you…alright…maybe I am, but it’s for Ike.”

“Ike? What’s up?”

“I feel like this statement has been…stated to death but we’re leaving.”

“Leaving?”

“Tellius.”

Mia nodded slowly “So you’re here to check if I want to come along.”

“Yes.”

“Are you going?”

“Yes.”

“Why’d I even ask that?” As she laughed she stood “Well, let’s be on our way.”

Soren stood “I figured you’d want to come along.”

“Duh.”

Mia began walking away with a smile, stopping after a few feet “Soren?” He was not following her.

“Is everything okay?”

“Mia…do you…wonder about anything in your life?”

Walking back towards him, she raised an eyebrow “What do you mean?”

“Who you are…where you came from…”

“Oh…I know who I am…I know where I was born, I know who my parents were…so…no, I guess I’m lucky that I don’t have to worry about that stuff. Why?”

_“Why are you telling her all this?”_

_“I don’t know.”_

_“Now that is a blatant lie.”_

“Soren?”

Sighing he looked away again “I think I can…get answers for things that have bothered me all my life…but I don’t know if I should.”

Mia walked around to be in front of him “Soren.”

His eyes found hers, and he found himself not wanting to look away.

Another smile came to her face “Do it.”

“That simple?”

“Yes…you may never get another chance…do it.”

Soren nodded, walking away while pulling something out of his back, it looked like a rock.

Mia tilted her head as Soren whispered “I’m ready.”

After a few moments the rock began to glow.

“Why there?”

After a few more moments he put it away and looked to Mia, “Go on back to the Mercenary Fort I-“

“Nope.” She walked over to him “You’re stuck with me.”

Nodding he gestured for her to follow.

* * *

“Ike!”

At that, Ike and Oscar brought their horses to a stop and looked up as Janaff descended.

“Janaff? What are you-“

“Ranulf and your guys called me at the fort, they wanted me to let you know they’re all headed for Gallia, Ranulf’s got a ship down there and everything.”

“They’re all coming along?”

At that Janaff scoffed “You surprised?”

Ike and Oscar looked to each other before the former spoke “Not at all, looks like we have a new destination. Janaff, can you find Soren and let him know?”

Janaff nodded “No problem!”

With that he took off.

* * *

 

“Hey Ranulf you’re back and-“

Zihark came to a stop upon noticing all the Greil Mercenaries following Ranulf.

“Uh…what are you guys all doing here?”

Titania smiled “Good to see you as well Zihark, comfortable in Gallia?”

Still watching everyone walk by with several packs he nodded slowly “Yeah of course…uh…”

“Best to tell you now I suppose, we’re leaving…departing this land.”

Zihark looked to Titania “Are you serious?”

“Yes, it was Ike’s idea and we’re all going with him.”

“Titania! Need some help over here!”

Rolling her eyes she moved towards Boyd demanding to know what it was this time, all while Zihark brought a hand to his chin and thought.

* * *

A few hours later Soren and Mia found themselves in Gallia, near the mountains that divided the land and Goldoa.

“What are the odds.”

Soren looked to Mia “Of what?”

“That we were headed the same way as the rest of the Mercenaries, we’ll definitely save on time that way.”

Soren nodded, Janaff had come to them a while back and relayed Ike’s message. It was convenient, given everything they could do for a little convenience.

As Mia looked back at the mountains, something prickled inside her.

“Soren…I’m a bit on edge.”

“It’ll be fine Mia.”

“You sure?”

He looked to her “Do you trust me?”

At that Mia nodded “With my life.”

As they neared the mountains a figure approached, gesturing a stone.

Soren took his out. _“Leave her.”_

Soren looked at Mia who looked back at him “Is something wrong?”

“No…just…stay here.”

With that he walked towards the figure, Mia wanted nothing more than to follow, but she trusted him and stood still.

“Who are you?” As he neared, Soren recognized the stranger’s clothes.

“…Almehda?”

“Yes…before I begin…Soren, I want to ask once more. Are you ready.”

“Ready to find out who I am?”

Meeting her eyes he fell silent, Almehda saw the recognition, realization, shock in his eyes.

“Soren-“

“No…”

He shook his head, he was overthinking it, he had to be but.

The sending stones.

Almehda knowing who he is.

His branded origin.

It was too clear, far too clear.

“No!”

“Soren listen to me…please.”

He looked back at her. “Why now? Why are you telling me this now? Why are you offering to tell me this now?”

“…because you deserve to know. I thought it best to keep it from you at first but it should be your choice. You told me you were ready…please listen to me.”

“…just say it.”

Nodding, she sighed “You are my son. The Branded Prince of Daein and Goldoa.”

Soren looked down “…and the son of…the Mad King…”

There was a long silence before Soren spoke again “I thought knowing my parents gave me up was bad enough…but one tried to bring about calamity and the other…”

He looked to Almehda “I loved you Soren…but…Ashnard cared nothing for you, he only wanted you because he thought you’d possess some special power. When he learned you didn’t you were a tool to bring Rajaion to Daein so he could be enslaved.”

“So I’m responsible for the loss of Ena’s fiancé as well? Fucking perfect.”

“Soren. Nothing is your fault, you were just born…it was all my fault for leaving the kingdom, for getting involved with Ashnard…I couldn’t protect you and when Ashnard exiled you from the capital I had no idea where you went, who took you. I was broken…that is why finding Pelleas…”

Soren clenched his fists “I don’t know what to think of this…”

He looked behind him to see Mia, all of a sudden he felt sick.

The way she looked at him, her smile made him sicker.

_“You thought you could care for someone?”_

_“You thought she actually cared about you?”_

_“Tell her this.”_

_“Tell everyone this.”_

_“Watch the hate grow.”_

_“No one loves you.”_

“Soren.”

Looking at Almehda again he released the breath he did not know he was holding “Maybe it is better that I know…it’ll stop me from making a massive mistake and destroying someone else’s life.”

“Soren, I know you are leaving Tellius…and it may not be fair to say this but out there, no one will care, the name Ashnard, the word Branded means nothing out there…I just…I just wanted you to know…look at yourself now. Look at what you’ve become. You became so much more…”

Sighing Soren felt something, wiping his cheek he cursed.

“Soren.”

“It’s fine…Almehda…I did have to know. I understand everything, even myself so much more now…but…”

Shaking his head he bowed to Almehda “I have to go.”

“I know you do.” Wiping her eyes she bowed back “I’ll always love you. Always.”

Mia noted as he approached how different he looked.

“Soren? Are you alright?”

He walked past her, not acknowledging her in anyway.

A cold feeling settled in her chest.

_“No…not again…not after everything…”_

Running to his side she grabbed his arm “Soren!”

Slowly he looked to her “What?”

“Talk to me…please…”

He looked away.

“Please!”

“We have to go.”

As he walked away, Mia nodded slowly “…alright…”

Looking back, the figure Soren was speaking to was gone.

_“What did you do to Soren?”_


	5. Into the Unknown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regrouping at Gallia the Mercenaries are all set to leave Tellius.

**Chapter 4 - Into the Unknown**

“I didn’t think you’d be so comfortable with this.” Ranulf stated as Ike approached him.

“Really? My father is buried here and I was raised here in my youth, as was Mist. I’m fine with the Laguz knowing we’re departing from here.”

“Well said.”

The pair turned as Skrimir and Caineghis joined them.

“My king.” Ranulf bowed to Skrimir.

“Our land will never forget what you have done for the Laguz Ike, we are just as honored to have you here.”

Ike bowed to Skrimir “Thank you.”

“Would you mind joining me, Ike?”

Nodding Ike and Caineghis walked away.

"Are you certain of this Ranulf?"

Bowing to his king, Ranulf smiled "Of course, my King."

"You are my right hand but being part of these Emissaries and spreading the knowledge and awareness that Laguz are in this world...I can think of no better act for us as a race."

Skrimir put a hand on his shoulder "I wish you the best of luck."

* * *

Reaching the Gallian Port, Mia walked alongside Soren dejectedly. He had all but stopped talking to her.

Years of slow build, years of breadcrumbs of knowledge, years of friendship, destroyed in a single moment.

It took her everything to keep it inside, and even then she had to excuse herself from Soren’s side to let a few tears fall.

Why? Why did she have to care so much for him of all people? Why was it him and only him that made her feel this way?

“Mia!”

Turning she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Nephenee, Heather and Leia all tackled Mia into a powerful group hug.

“W-what are you doing here!?”

Nephenee laughed “Soren sent Janaff to let us know so we could be here, mighty thoughtful of him.”

“I’ll say!” Heather added while Mia picked up Leia.

“It is so good to see you as well.”

Leia smiled “You too!” As the girl embraced her, Mia spotted Soren’s retreating form _“Thank you.”_ she let her tears fall, being embraced by Nephenee and Heather shortly after once again.

* * *

Ike kneeled at Greil’s grave. Urvan was returned to its rightful spot after the Dawn War.

Putting a hand on the headstone, Ike smiled.

Standing he turned to Caineghis “Thank you for watching over his resting place when I can’t, it means everything.”

“That I know.” Caineghis answered back.

“You are taking _those_ blades with you, correct?”

Ike thought back, after the Dawn War, Sanaki permanently granted Ragnell and Alondite to Ike, for the first time since Altina the blades would belong to a single person once again.

“I’d do anything to meet her.” He said offhandedly. “Altina.”

Caineghis chuckled “Indeed, I don’t think a single woman alive now could wield both Ragnell and Alondite with such peerless might.”

“The blades will be with me, but we’ll only use them if required, I don’t foresee needing them both but who knows?”

At that Caineghis nodded as the pair headed back to the port.

* * *

“I was already certain that I was coming, didn’t plan on this guy tagging along.”

Ranulf gestured to Zihark “What can I say?”

Titania laughed “Well as they always say, the more the merrier. Ranulf, Zihark, welcome aboard.”

“Pardon.” The group moved aside as Oscar led his and Titania’s horses onto the ship.

“We have room for em?” Zihark asked to which Ranulf nodded.

“More than enough room for us on this family road trip.”

Titania looked to Oscar “…so that’s what Rhys said?”

“Yes, Ike told me himself. I wish the man the best, he deserves an easy life.”

Titania nodded “Indeed.”

She spotted Soren and walked towards him “Good to see you back. How was the trip?”

He looked up at her briefly “Fine.”

“Fine? Is that all?”

“Yes.”

With that he walked away, tapping her chin she walked over to Mia and her friends.

“So you’ve been helping a lot right?”

Leia nodded “Yeah…I help my mommies with everything!”

Mia looked to Heather “Everything?”

Heather shook her head “No…s-t-e-a-l-i-n-g.”

The rogue gestured to Nephenee “She’d kill me.”

“I wouldn’t but I would be very disappointed.”

“Why mommy?”

Nephenee shook her “Not in you! Never in you Leia!”

The three kneeled down to the girl’s level “You are perfect.” Heather stated.

Leia smiled, fidgeting with her fingers “Thank you mommy…”

Titania cleared her throat, Heather, Nephenee and Mia stood, facing her with Heather and Leia stating: “Hey Crimson Beauty!”

Titania laughed “Oh my, thank you Leia.”

Giving a toothy smile, Titania looked to Heather and Nephenee “Would you tow mind if I spoke with Mia for a bit?”

They shook their heads with Nephenee gesturing for Leia to follow.

As they moved away, Titania cleared her throat “What happened?”

“What?”

“Soren. He’s walking around with a raging storm cloud over his head. You were with him right?”

Mia nodded “I don’t know if it’s my place to say…”

“Mia…did you tell him?”

At that she looked up in shock “Tell him!? T-tell him…tell him what?”

Titania rolled her eyes “You know very well what.”

Sighing Mia looked down “No.”

Crossing her arms the trueblade continued “He…he met someone…they spoke for a bit and…he’s been like that ever since…he won’t even look at me…”

“Met someone? Where? Why?”

“He…I shouldn’t say…”

Titania wanted to groan in frustration but she knew that there was much to Soren that was personal, the fact that Mia knew anything was a miracle, as much as she wanted to help, it wouldn’t be right.

“Mia. You’ve been at his side before, just keep it up and act like nothing’s changed.”

“But something did change.”

“For him…you still feel the same way right?”

“…of course…”

Titania smiled “Then keep it up, since you’ve been at his side he’s opened up much more, just do it again.”

Mia nodded, her energy returning “I will! Thank you Titania!”

* * *

 

Ike stood on the ship, noting Ranulf and Zihark before speaking to the latter “Are you sure?”

“More than sure…besides if I’m not here who is Mia going to challenge every day? I figure this way we can divide her energy.”

Ike laughed at that “Indeed.”

He watched as Mia shared one last hug with Nephenee, Heather and Leia

“I love you all.”

“We love you too.” They all replied in unison.

Nephenee leaned in close “You gave me advice before so here I go: tell him.”

“I don’t know if I can, Neph.”

Nephenee shook her head “Of course you can and you know it.”

Heather nodded, seeing her doing this, Leia did it as well.

“Thank you again…I really do love you all.”

With that she boarded the ship as they waved, spotting Zihark she smiled as he walked towards her.

“Hey Z.”

“Mia.”

“You ready for what’s coming?”

“All set.”

Mia laughed “Then let’s go.”

Boyd approached Ike “Hey, this just came to mind, who is steering this ship?”

“I am.”

“Titania? When did you learn how to-“

“Does it matter when? I know how to so I’ll do it. No more questions or I’ll make you walk the plank.”

“Hah! Nice try! We don’t have a plank!”

Titania narrowed her eyes.

“I hear my wife calling.”

With that, Boyd split.

“Alright everyone, say farewell to Tellius! May we meet again!”

* * *

 

Soren sat in his room, it felt like he was back in the time of the Mad King’s War, any attention given to him, he didn’t want.

He wanted to stew in his misery.

He knew it was stupid but it didn’t stop him from sitting there until he heard a knock on the door.

“Soren.”

“Mia.”

“I don’t know what happened…but I care about you, I always have you know that. You don’t have to tell me what happened. But don’t shut me out like this, don’t shut everyone out like this…we’re all friends right?”

Soren sighed, she had a point.

“Hope to see you at dinner…I…have a good rest, Soren.”

He heard her footsteps recede and laid back on his bed, closing his eyes.

“This is only the beginning.”

* * *

 

_Departure Arc End_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original Departure - 4 CH - 2,764 Words  
> REDUX Departure - 5 CH - 5,912 Words


	6. Blue Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the Mercenaries' ship sails the endless blue and they head towards an unknown future, Soren and Mia think of the past.

_The Thyremog Arc_

**Chapter 5 - Blue Memories**

_It was a calm day, Soren sat beneath a tree reading one of his tomes when he spotted her, one of the only other Mercenaries who woke up so early._

_After their first meeting he just assumed that she liked to train a lot as in frequently, but it was indeed…a lot._

_Looking back to his book he sighed._

_After a few minutes he found his book being pulled down and was now looking into wide and expecting green eyes._

_“Hey Soren!”_

_“…Mia.”_

_“You get so lost in your books…one of these days someone is gonna sneak up on you in a bad way.”_

_At that Soren rolled his eyes “What? No one is going to bother to cover me?”_

_Shocked, Mia shook her head “No! Of course not! I mean-of course! Uh…wow that came out wrong.”_

_Standing Soren dusted himself off “I’ll do it.” Turning he raised an eyebrow._

_“I’ll watch your back, promise.”_

_“…if you’re sure.”_

_“More than sure, you can count on me!”_

* * *

Opening his eyes Soren heard blades clashing, even as he sat up the memories still lingered.

After the Mad King’s War he took Ike’s advice to try and be at least a bit lighter, talk a bit more. It was Mia though that forced his hand, the years between that and the Dawn War were full of various moments of her finding him and just talking. He always assumed there was some vile ulterior motive, but the chats were largely inconsequential and at times, serious.

He recalled the battle to free Lucia from Ludveck’s rebels, sure enough Mia was always close by when he was casting a spell.

Hearing another clash he stood, grabbed his robe and went topside to see Mia and Zihark sparring.

“Z, you’ve spent quite some time on your blade work eh?”

Jumping away from one of her attacks Zihark nodded “Of course, every day I didn’t I knew I was falling behind, can’t let that happen.”

Mia chuckled “Don’t kill yourself trying to keep up with my regiment, Z.”

Nodding at that Zihark moved in “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Looking aside Soren noted Mist standing by with staff in hand.

Ike appeared next to Soren, prompting the sage to ask or rather state “Rhys stood back.”

“Yeah. Everyone here understands and I’m sure he knows we wish him the best.”

Soren recalled one of the few times he went with Ike to see Rhys, the man seemed truly happy with his work.

“So Soren, I know you don’t like guessing and making assumptions but what do you think we’ll come upon first?”

Soren remained silent for a bit before saying “I honestly have no idea, we’re all out of our element out here.”

“Indeed we are.”

* * *

_“Soren!”_

_Stopping he turned as Mia came to a halt before him “Where ya goin?”_

_“Heading up to Melior…”_

_“Mind if I come along?”_

_Shrugging he faced her “I suppose not but are you sure you won’t be needed here?”_

_“Soren. You manage us so you tell me.”_

_Turning away he started walking “You’re right.”_

_“As always.”_

_At that he scoffed “Not always.”_

_“Right only when it’s just the two of us.”_

_Soren wanted to counter but he realized she was right, whenever it was just the two of them chatting, she found the easiest ways to ‘stump’ him in whatever it was they were talking about._

_“How do you do that?”_

_Mia looked at him questioningly before tapping her chin “Well you are super smart, like wow you must have a massive brain…but because of that you sometimes overcomplicate the simplest things.”_

_“Makes sense…” he muttered. “…to answer the question I’m sure you’re going to ask later, there is a bookstore with some rather old tomes in Melior. I make a few trips there to research them.”_

_Nodding, Mia spoke “What kind of spells are they?”_

_“No spells…just magic theory, elder magic hypothesis and essays on magic and ether forces said to originate from other lands.”_

_“Other lands?”_

_“That’s what they say.”_

_Mia muttered a low “Sounds boring…”_

_Soren smirked “Well I don’t read it for the entertainment value.”_

_Mia laughed before staring at Soren with wide eyes “Was that…was that a joke?”_

_At Soren’s silence Mia laughed even louder “Oh my Goddess that was a joke! Soren! You made a joke!”_

_As she continued laughing the sage couldn’t fight off a small smile of his own._

* * *

 

Snapping out of her thoughts Mia turned to see a bow on the ground, then looking up to the crow’s nest she called out “Shinon, you sure its safe up there?”

“Of course it isn’t but someone has to keep an eye out!”

“What are you gonna do without your bow?”

After a short silence a rather loud curse came from above, giggling she called back “What are you even looking out for?”

“Exactly! C’mon Mia! We’re out here on the ocean blue headed towards who knows what! What if we’re right and there are others out there and we come across another ship? We need to know where it is in case they got confrontational!”

“Yeah…yeah that makes sense…you want your bow back?”

“I would be highly ineffective without it!”

Mia chuckled before bending down and picking it up, “You sure that’s safe?”

Mia stood up to see Soren and smiled “Talking to me again?”

Rolling his eyes he looked away slightly only to frown and let out a rather long breath “Sorry…I just-“

“Mia! You comin up here today!?”

“Gotta go and don’t worry about me!” With that she winked and started making her way up to netting.

 _“How does she keep doing that to me?”_ Frustrated Soren turned and walked away.

Unknown to him, Titania stood some feet away, watching and chuckling.

“Titania? Are we fine with you here?”

“The breeze should keep us good for a bit, and there isn’t much direction needed since we have no real destination. As long as we don’t get turned around we’ll be good.”

Ike nodded at that “How can you tell? It’s nothing but endless blue on all sides?”

Titania remained silent as Mia hopped off the netting, a few feet from the ground. Smiling she turned to Soren who was standing aside, from the way he looked it was easy to tell he was berating her for being unsafe and as always she shrugged it off with a smile.

“Ike, what do you see?”

Ike raised an eyebrow then followed Titania’s vision, all he could see was Mist, Boyd and Ranulf chatting, Zihark examining his blade, Rolf shouting up to Shinon, Soren and Mia talking, Gatrie going below decks probably for some food…

“What?”

Titania shook her head “Never mind.”

* * *

_“You are far too…brash in your movements at times Mia.”_

_The woman smiled “Well it’s not my fault you set up shop so close to those archers and the sword dude.”_

_Soren rolled his eyes “I know you said you’d watch my back but it doesn’t seem like it’s the best use of your talents. Next time you might not be so lucky. To be honest I can’t believe you got through those three unscathed.”_

_Soren was walking away as he spoke, noticing the silence he turned, Mia was looking down. “Mia?”_

_Shooting up to meet his glance she chuckled…somewhat oddly “I’m fine.”_

_“Did you hear-“_

_“I gotta go.”_

_Mia’s fought at Soren’s side for a few battles now and the sage could tell she was graceful under pressure while also being sudden and deadly. But when she disengaged from her target to cover him, she was…awkward, relying on strength to kill the other men as quickly as possible._

_It wasn’t like her._

_Watching her almost trip as she walked away was also not like her._

_“Mia?”_

_Vanishing around a corner, Soren quickly chased after her, finding her leaning against a tree and gripping her side._

_“Mia!”_

_“I’m fine…”_

_Sliding down the tree she fell to the ground, he followed her down quickly and pulled out his staff._

_Moving her hand away, he found she was hiding a large gash that was still bleeding, clearly from the warrior she ignored to cover him, he landed quite the blow._

_“Mia…this is serious, why would you just stand there and talk to me when you could very well be bleeding out?”_

_He looked at her face and was met with a smile._

_“Mia, I’m serious.”_

_“I’m your partner Soren, I’ve got to cover you.”_

_As he healed her he shook his head “Not like this.”_

_At that moment, Soren realized that while Mia was covering him, he was not returning the favor, he moved around the battlefield however he wished, taking out threats as they appeared which led to Mia having to drop whatever she is in the middle of to follow and cover him._

_“This is my fault.”_

_“What? No!” Trying to laugh only resulted in a small coughing fit from Mia._

_“I left you on your own…I’m amazed this hasn’t happened before.”_

_At the sudden silence, Soren looked at Mia’s face again, she was avoiding his gaze._

_“Mia, please tell me this is the first time you got hurt because of me.”_

_“Uh…this is the first time I got hurt…”_

* * *

“I’m sorry.”

Mia stopped and looked back at Soren “What about? You didn’t say anything-“

“During the war against Begnion…letting you get hurt all those times. I’m sorry.”

Mia smiled before laughing “That? That was years ago, Soren what’s this really about?”

The sage shook his head “You’ve been…such a constant in my life, yet I’ve taken you for granted. Your friendship, your combat aid. If you had gotten killed fighting by me I probably wouldn’t have given it a second thought…I’m a terrible person.”

Sighing, Mia walked over and gave Soren a playful tap on his head “Soren. I’m still here, there is no need to think about it like that.”

Frustrated he looked away “Why are you always like this? It’s like I can do no wrong to you…I’ve wronged many people in my life…yet nothing I do or say makes you go away…why?”

“Remember when we first met?”

At that Soren looked at Mia, only he saw the younger girl, with somehow brighter eyes, shorter hair but just as much energy.

* * *

_“So…you’re Soren, right?”_

_“…”_

_“Ike told me to come see you about payment or whatever. I just joined following that fight against-“_

_“Yes I know.”_

_“Oh…well…need anything from me?”_

_Soren looked up at her “Why are you joining us?”_

_“Hm?”_

_“What do you gain from this?”_

_Shrugging Mia spoke “Greil saved my life. I feel I owe him.”_

_“Is that it?”_

_“Well…no…”_

_Soren stood “It’s hard to trust someone who won’t tell the whole reason why.”_

_Mia nodded “Makes sense but…I swear that I’m loyal, it has nothing to do with-“_

_“Your word means nothing to me, I’ll let you stay on but tread carefully.”_

_Mia tilted her head “I take it you don’t trust anyone.”_

_Sitting down Soren went back to work._

_“It’s gotta be hard being so pessimistic all the time, you’re allowed to trust people y’know.”_

_“No one deserves to be trusted.”_

_“Yikes.”_

_Mia tapped her chin before pulling up a seat “Hey.”_

_After a bit, Soren’s eyes finally went up to meet hers._

_“I trust you.”_

_Soren scoffed “What makes you say that?”_

_“People probably think you a rude jerk eh? I mean you do the rude jerk thing really well, like wow but I can tell that-“_

_“It’s an act?”_

_“No not entirely, it comes from a place of concern, regardless of whether you like any of the people out there, I doubt you want to see them get killed in battle. So someone like me who you don’t know is a wild card. I get that.”_

_“…”_

_Smiling Mia flexed her arm “I mean, I am pretty tough looking…but besides that I can tell that you are someone people should definitely have in their corner so I’m going to trust you.”_

_“Doesn’t mean-“_

_“You trust me, that’s fair.” Standing, still smiling, Mia continued “I’m going to earn your trust, you’ll see.”_

* * *

Soren remained silent thinking about the meeting “Even then.” He finally whispered “Even then I couldn’t get you to leave…you are stubborn.”

“Always have been…despite the things you’d say to me or do, I still trusted you and I still do. Along the way I grew to like you, I don’t hang around you to prove my trust anymore or convince you trust me, I hang around you because I like you. Simple as that.”

Sighing Soren proceeded to apologize again, prompting Mia to ask “What for this time?”

“After…at the Goldoa border…sorry…”

Mia smiled before taking a step forward and embracing Soren “At the time you looked like you saw a ghost…are you okay now?”

After she pulled away, Soren nodded “I’m better.

_“No you’re not.”_

“Really?”

“Yes.”

_“Now you’re lying to her, though in all honesty you’ve been lying to her and everyone since you met. What’s next?”_

“Dinner!” They heard Oscar call out.

Mia turned “Woah!” Unknown to them, night fell.

“We really get lost in our chats eh?”

Soren nodded slowly as Mia started walking away “Well c’mon food time!”

Soren remained still, watching her walk away while his mind continued its internal fight.

_“You want more from her.”_

“No…I don’t.”

_“You do but you know no one, not even she will accept you. Not as the monster you are.”_

“I…I know…”

_“Then stop fooling yourself.”_

As much as he wanted to, he thought of what she said.

Despite everything he did grow to trust her and enjoy her company. As much as he knew he should distance himself from her, he didn’t want to stop talking to her.

“What a mess…” he muttered before following Mia’s retreating form.


	7. Landfall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Mercenaries ship continues on its route, drawing closer to unknown lands.

 

**Chapter 6 - Landfall**

A week and a half after leaving Tellius the ship carrying the Greil Mercenaries found itself amidst a raging storm.

Everyone remained below decks as the rain continued to pour.

They expected at least one storm though no one thought it would be as rough as it is.

“Regretting this yet?” Boyd asked Shinon who just shrugged.

“Eh…”

“Y’know, I’m surprised you were packed to go first, I thought you’d throw a fit over the whole ‘leaving Tellius’ thing.”

“Guess you thought wrong.”

Emerging from his room, Soren spotted Zihark “Hey.”

“Ah, Soren. Greetings, what can I do for you? Actually! Can I ask you a question?”

Soren nodded before Zihark gestured for him to sit “Do you see Mia train a lot?”

“Yes…Zihark…do you want me to give you tips on dueling her?”

Zihark whistled “You got that from my innocent question?”

Soren rolled his eyes “To be fair, she keeps beating you cause she’s faster and far too tenacious for her own good.”

Laughing Zihark nodded “Don’t I know it. No matter how many times I hit her she does not want to stay down. I’m not sure how she does it.”

The man noticed a slight…twitch from Soren, tapping his chin he leaned closer “Do you not like watching comrades spar?”

“Hm?”

“You twitched when I mentioned hitting her.”

_“Did I?”_

Soren shook his head “What? No I didn’t.”

_“I…did.”_

Zihark shrugged “Alright, if you say so but don’t worry about it Soren, we’re not trying to kill each other despite how it looks, I promise.”

_“It wasn’t friends sparring that…bothers me…it’s the idea of Mia getting hit…”_

Focusing back on Zihark he decided to let that conversation slide “Anything else you wanted to ask me?”

Zihark shook his head “Not really…just fishing for information. I’ll be getting my butt rocked again when Mia challenges me again.”

“Speaking of Mia, where is she?”

Zihark laughed “Training of course.”

Soren followed Zihark’s gesture towards the stairs.

 “Topside? Why?”

“C’mon Soren, you know her.”

“I…what?”

“What?”

“What do you mean?”

“Uh…that…you…know her? She’s been in the mercenaries for years, surely you got used to her regiment.”

Soren nodded at that “Right, of course that’s what you meant.”

“You alright?”

“I’m fine Z, I just-“

“Z?”

Catching himself, Soren mentally smacked himself before turning to face a rather amused Zihark “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-“

“Hey, hey! Who’s mad? Feel free to call me Z! Loosen up! Honestly, I just wish it was as easy to come up with a name for you and Mia…speaking of, want me to go topside with you to get her?”

“I appreciate it Zihark but I’d rather get less people sick if I can avoid it.”

“I would probably get sick as soon as, good call Soren.” As the sage walked away Zihark called after him “I’m serious though! Z is totally fine!”

“Soren.”

“Titania.”

Disappearing topside, Titania shook her head “Alright everyone, get comfortable we-“

“What about food!” Boyd called out.

“If you want to lend a hand, Oscar and I could use it, not the most stable vessel at the moment.”

“I hate cooking!”

“Then you get nothing!”

* * *

 

Ignoring the pelting rain, Mia continued going through her motions, one step almost fell out from under her. Cursing she planted her foot before bringing her blade up again.

Soren stood close by, about to call out to her only to watch her train, seeing how careful she was being he decided to just wait till she finished, shouldn’t be too long.

After a bit, Mia took a long breath and sheathed her blade, “Wow I’m drenched…duh, what did you expect.”

Turning around she stopped when she saw Soren, looked down at herself and rather quickly, covered herself and turned away.

“H-hey Soren…h-how long have-“

Soren shook his head as she sneezed. Walking towards her he spoke “Just a bit, are you alright?”

He put a hand on her shoulder causing her to laugh “Not the smartest coming up here to train eh?”

A flash of lightning and crash of thunder followed, Soren smirked and deadpanned “Nope.”

Sneezing again she shook her head “Suppose some soup is in order.”

“And bed rest. Yes.”

* * *

 

“Seriously Mia, what did you expect?”

“Not in the mood Z.” Mia stated as she threw a blanket over here to dry her clothes.

“Of course you aren’t, you could’ve done your exercises down here y’know.”

Mia shrugged “Not enough room.”

“I beg to differ, see your just being difficult.”

Soren entered the room “Any soup preference Mia?”

“No, not really, thanks Soren.”

After he left, Zihark shook his head “If you told me a few years back that you two would be combat partners, I would never have believed you.”

Mia smiled “He’s not so-“

“Bad? I know, he isn’t but you have to admit he was pretty hard to approach in the past right?”

Mia sneezed before responding “No he wasn’t. I mean, sure you might get intimidated but you have to work through it and just…talk to him.”

Zihark sighed “I suppose…makes it more my fault for not even trying eh?”

“Well you can now.”

Nodding Zihark left the room to find Soren.

* * *

 

The storm finally eased up a short while later, Shinon went top side and stretched as he headed for the crow’s nest, muttering to himself the whole way up about the ‘damned rain’.

Reaching the top he stretched again “OK…now-“

If he had been eating or drinking anything he’d be choking on it, looking down he called out as loudly as he could “LANDFALL!”

Ike was there shortly after looking at Shinon who pointed in the proper direction. Sure enough, there was an approaching coast.

“Finally.”

* * *

 

Below everyone was muttering about it as Ike went to Titania “So what’s the protocol for pulling up to a foreign land in a foreign vessel filled with foreign people armed with foreign weapons?”

Titania chuckled “There is no protocol.”

“Kinda figured…what can we do to make this as smooth as possible?”

“Easy, find a port and pull in there. We should be able to explain ourselves to the guards there, military if we have to, we are Emissaries after all, right?”

Ike nodded at that “Basically, yeah. Alright, let’s do that.”

* * *

 

Mia sniffed as Soren entered her room.

“Soup here, Zihark actually helped make it, shouldn’t be surprised he can do that seeing as he travels alone a lot.”

“Thanks Soren…you and Zihark…talk?”

“…a little…”

“About?”

Soren placed the bowl of soup next to her, as she ate he spoke “He apologized.”

“For what?”

“Not talking to me sooner…it’s odd, I never thought of it as an issue but he took it personally.”

Mia smiled “I think he wants to be your friend.”

Soren laughed at that “Why?”

“Why not? The three of us could hang out and train together and all that. We could teach you how to use a sword and you could teach us magic, c’mon use your imagination!”

As she sneezed again Soren shook his head “I don’t think either of you could learn magic.”

“Oh is that a challenge?”

“It’ll have to be for later, we’re going to land soon.”

Mia sighed “Right, a new land and I’m going to be sick…why didn’t I just train below decks?”

Soren continued to watch her in silence as she ate. He was a little distracted looking at her sleeping wear, it was so different from her usual combat ready attire and before he could fully comprehend it, he spoke.

“You look nice.”

She glanced at him, once again he mentally slapped himself.

_“I have got to stop putting my foot in my mouth.”_

Not that he could tell do to her cold, but her cheeks flushed as she looked away “Thanks…”

“…anyway, it’ll be fine, it’s just a cold. Keep some cloths on hand for sneezing and you’ll be okay.”

Mia gestured to her blade.

“Bring it.”

“Really?”

“For our safety, just in case this doesn’t go down well.”

Mia nodded at that, standing she made a move before remembering Soren was there “Uh…I’m going to…change.”

“Of course, of course. See you soon.”

With that he stood and left the room

* * *

 

Sure enough a port was found and the ship pulled in slowly.

Getting out the Mercenaries followed Ike down the docks with Oscar and Titania keeping a handle on their horses, all aware of more than a few eyes on them.

Specifically, a lot of attention on Ranulf, whose ears picked up the whispering about him as he walked by groups of people.

“Maybe I should have worn a hat.” He muttered.

Zihark shook his head “Why hide it? No one here knows what a Laguz is.”

“I guess…I just don’t like the attention.”

Zihark tapped Ranulf’s arm and pointed to a group of women, clearly focused on him.

“And now?”

Ranulf just laughed before waving to them.

“Alright, so, what’s the plan?” Boyd asked to which Ike noted what looked like port guards.

“We need to talk to the military about-“

All of a sudden there was an explosion, two of the ships at port were burning and the guards quickly ran towards the mess as people began screaming and scattering.

“This was not planned for our arrival was it?” Oscar asked as he mounted up.

Ike drew one of his blades “Nope but first impressions right?”

The Mercenaries took off in a sprint towards the chaos.

* * *

“Ilk! Zanzu! Well done!” A man said.

The first one called Ilk armed with two blades bowed “No problem Get, far too easy to blow their shit up.”

The one named Zanzu raised his axe and laughed “Indeed! Our men are having a rather loud raiding party! What now?”

“Stop!”

A port guard charged them, Get pulled out his spear and moved forward, kicking the guards lance away before running him through, forcing the man to his knees he pulled out a knife and sliced his throat before kicking the body off his weapon.

“Now we leave, let our men-“

The three turned upon hearing their troops yelling rather loudly, in a combative manner.

“Strange, there are not enough guards here to mount a substantial attack…” Ilk commented.

The three then saw the cause of the commotion, a mess of strangers charged in and began ripping through the bandits like nothing.

Ilk prepared to lunge in only for Get to grab him and pull him back “We report this to Barbyos.”

Ilk spat while Zanzu nodded and the three left.

* * *

Stumbling a bandit fell back dead, still clutching the wound in his chest. Mia prepared to move only to stop and sneeze.

“Damn it.”

At that moment a man appeared behind her.

Turning she saw a gale slam into him and throw him against a building. As he fell limp she looked to Soren and smiled.

“Retreat!” One bandit called out as Ranulf, in beast form tackled his partner. Turning the bandit did not see Ike swing his blade and unleash a blue wave which promptly cut through him.

The group looked around once more, confirming all the bandits dead before regrouping.

“That was easy.” Rolf commented.

“After what we’ve been through, don’t think we should ever expect hard.” Shinon added.

The group turned as a few port guards approached them rather warily “Who are you!?”

Looking to Titania, Ike saw her gesture, sheathing Ragnell he approached them.

“My name is Ike, we are Emissaries from the land of Tellius.”

The two guards looked to each other, before one spoke “Tellius?”

“Yes, it’s about a week and half, almost two weeks sail from here.”

The guards moved back a bit.

Normally they’d doubt the story but their gaze fell on Ranulf who was, a few moments ago, a large blue cat then they moved to Ike’s energy slinging blade. Things that neither guard had seen in their entire life.

“What do you want here?”

“Well, we were hoping to just speak with you before…well, before all this. The Queen of my country, Elincia wants us to act as Emissaries so we’d like an audience with whoever rules this land if that’s possible.”

The guards spoke to each other quietly. One nodded and walked off while the last one took off his helmet.

“I’m Captain Exet, serving the King by leading the Port Guard. We’re sending word to Edal 2nd Head of our armies. It’s been a while since we have visitors but we’ve never heard of a Tellius so we’re not too familiar with the protocol for…all this…”

“Neither are we.” Ike stated.

A small grin came to Exet’s face “Either way, we’ll see where to go from there, in the meantime you can come to our barracks. We have a stable for your horses.”

As the Mercenaries began walking behind Exet, Ike asked “So, where are we.”

Chuckling Exet faced him “The state of Blu Run in the Kingdom of Thyremog.”


	8. Stranger Lands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Mercenaries learn of the mess Thyremog is currently in...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I remember thinking it odd that in Path of Radiance there is "A Strange Land" and "Strange Lands" so...here we go :D

 

**Chapter 7 - Stranger Lands**

_The State of Blu Run_

“Feel free to eat whatever you’d like. It’s the least we can do for all of you dealing with the Barbyos Legion.”

As the Mercenaries sat to eat, Ike walked over and sat next to Exet “Who are the Barbyos Legion?”

Exet took a rather long drink before sighing “A gang of bandits, ruthless and wild but as of late they’ve almost been…calculating. This isn’t the first attack on Blu Run’s port and most likely won’t be the last.”

Ike tapped his chin about to say something when Exet cut him off “You aren’t with them are you?”

“What? No.”

“It’s just very convenient you appeared in time to stop them.”

Ike nodded “Yes it is…we were hoping to seek you out first, make ourselves known but, to put it simply we can’t ignore people calling for help…if you don’t mind another question, how did they blow up the ships? Magic?”

Exet shook his head “No…there is not a lot of magic here in Thyremog, though we do produce psychics, one named Yatno serves our King. What they used are called Fire Bombs, small round orbs that erupt into towers of flame. They’ve destroyed many ships and countless buildings with them.”

Ike raised an eyebrow “Sounds way above the paygrade of any bandit I’ve ever fought…and wait…what do you mean by psychic?”

“Just as it sounds. Yatno can feel the thoughts of others and through prolonged interaction can begin reading their thoughts.”

“Considering everything I’ve witnessed I suppose it isn’t too strange. Must come in handy for protecting the King.”

Exet nodded to Ike “Indeed it does but…all things considered this this war of attrition is not getting any better…they always seem to have those Fire Bombs at their disposal, it makes out men wary of initiating attacks because they could easily bomb us in the middle of a charge and wipe us all out.”

Ike easily understand the man’s frustration, though hearing of bandits being this much of a problem was still strange.

Exet turned to look over the rest of the foreigners, noting how diverse they all were, especially the man that could somehow turn into a cat. For all he knew Tellius must be massive compared to Thyremog.

“So…you are Royal Emissaries?”

Nodding Ike spoke “Basically, thought that wasn’t the initial plan when I decided to leave Tellius. We were just Mercenaries for hire with a leader who can’t ignore his sense of adventure.”

Exet chuckled “Mercenaries…I think its safe so assume you are unlike any mercenaries I’ve met or heard of.”

“We aren’t. As for becoming Emissaries it happened when I spoke with my Queen. Turns out she’s actually wanted to send a troop out to look for other lands but politics and the like…you know…”

“Oh believe me, I do.” The pair shared a laugh as Exet looked back outside “Well, our message should have reached Edal, with any luck he’ll be here soon. The Royal Palace where our King Lytros dwells is located in the state of Gull Tor several miles to the east. If anything I’d rather have you meet Neteau the Head Commander of our military but he is on a mission to hunt down Barbyos in Reed Baum to the northwest.”

“We’re not demanding the royal treatment, you all clearly have internal issues to deal with beyond meeting a bunch of foreigners.”

Exet nodded and raised his glass “Though I feel somewhat…fortunate to meet you.”

“Does it have anything to do with not having to face the Barbyos bandits in the last attack?”

Smirking the Captain nodded “Something like that.”

* * *

 

“What do you think this is?”

Soren looked over to the third piece of meat Zihark was showing him “I have just as much knowledge about Thyremog as you, Zihark.”

“Yeah but you’re still smarter than I am…and call me Z.”

“No.”

“C’mon Soren!” The pair turned as Mia sat near them “You’re friends now, friends use nicknames.”

“Friends?” At Soren’s confusion Zihark snapped his fingers “I got it! I’ll give you a nickname! S? No…Wind Guy! Tempest! The Hurricane!”

Soren sighed “Those sound like names for warriors of legend, I’m still alive.”

“Well what if you’re a living legend?”

“There are no ‘living’ legends.”

Mia pointed behind her, mouth full “What about Ike?”

The two looked over to Ike talking to Exet.

“Yeah Soren!”

At Zihark’s goading Soren groaned “Fine! But I’m not one.”

Zihark snapped his fingers again “Charmer! Heather always calls you that! Piece of home out here right?”

The Daein trueblade noticed the change in Soren’s face “Don’t like it?” Zihark then noted Soren was looking at Mia and cursed.

“I’m sorry.”

Mia shook her head “No its fine…excuse me.”

Standing Mia walked away as Zihark cursed again before looking to Soren “You know I didn’t mean-“

“I know Zihark, I know.”

* * *

 

“If you don’t mind me asking Ike… do you have everything you need from your ship?”

“Yes.”

Exet scratched the back of his head “Well I’m sure you’re aware we lost two of them…with a third needing serious repairs…”

Ike nodded “I understand…by the way, where do your ships go?”

“Well we used to trade with the Islands of Hitenticul but-“

“Exet! Edal’s Brigade is approaching!”

Standing Exet whistled “That was much faster than I thought.”

“Hopefully he didn’t rush here with the intention of arresting us or something.”

Exet shook his head “I doubt it and I honestly would not like to start any sort of battle with all of you.”

* * *

 

_Barbyos Legion Hideout_

“Outsiders? Were they Islanders?”

“No Barbyos…they were most certainly not from Hitenticul.”

Scratching his chin, Barbyos’ one eye found Get “They foiled our attack?”

“The ships were destroyed and a few guards killed, the level of chaos was not achieved but-“

“It’s fine…we did the deed…does he know about this?”

“I sent Zanzu and Ilk to let him know.”

Crossing his arms, Barbyos nodded “He’s calling the shots, let him decide how to deal with this.”

Get stood and sighed “Why must we listen to this man? I thought-“

“It won’t be much longer, once he gets what he wants we will be free to do as we wish.”

“You trust him? A man willing to betray everyone?”

Barbyos laughed before turning to face Get. Get himself was a large man but Barbyos still looked down on him. A belt strapped around his bare chest hooked a wicked red axe to his back, over that he wore a tattered jacket with steel plates on his shoulders. A large belt led to dark leggings and large steel boots, one still had the smudges of the last poor bastard he stomped to death.

A large cloth wrapped around his head over one of his eyes, his gray hair spiked out the top and bottom, a bit over his one vibrant yellow eye.

“Of course I don’t trust him…but until the land is his, we’ll go along with it.”

* * *

 

_The State of Blu Run_

“Commander Edal.” Exet bowed as the man took off his helmet, revealing his blonde hair. His brown eyes noted the Mercenaries “Is that them?”

“Yes sir.”

Edal took a few steps to meet Ike and Titania.

“I would first like to thank you for defending Blu Run even if you had nothing to gain.”

Ike shrugged “Well, the impressions help.”

“Indeed…though I am still wary of leading you to our King.”

“Well I heard you had a psychic, I’m sure he can tell we aren’t plotting anything.”

Edal nodded slowly “Maybe so…but-“

Cutting him off, Titania spoke up “You don’t have to take all of us, Ike and I can go alone with you and all of your men. That should negate any idea that we would do anything untoward, right?”

Edal looked to Exet, then Titania before meeting Ike’s gaze.

“That would be preferable.”

“Good…that fine with you Ike?”

Nodding to the Knight, Ike looked back at the group “Soren!”

The sage approached them “Yes Ike.”

“Keep everyone here, we’ll be back tomorrow…or maybe later depending on how things go.”

“Or never…” Soren stated, eyes focused on Edal and Exet.

“It’ll be fine Soren.”

The sage noticed Ike’s tone and nodded. If anything was to go wrong, Ike and Titania could fight out of it and get away. Of that everyone should be certain.

“Well, shall we?”

Ike and Titania fell into step with Edal and left as Exet looked back to Soren.

“You’re the careful one eh?”

“You could say that.”

* * *

 

_Thyremog Palace_

“Sitting on his throne was the King: Lytros, a young king taking control after his father, he wants nothing more than to maintain the peace of his father’s rule…but every day it becomes harder to do so.

Wearing an open green jack adorned with chains and gems and revealing the tan shirt beneath. Baggy blue leggings covered his lower half but fanned out to show his pointed black boots. At his back was a brilliant blue green cape. Eyebrows furrowed he thought of the strangers while running a hand through his silver hair.

“Foreigners.”

“According to the message the bird brought from Exet at Blu Run, yes. They are from a land called Tellius.”

Lytros tapped his chin before looking to his councilmen “What do you all think?”

The first one, the tallest with black hair: Yass “It’s dangerous to let them come here, we have no clue who they are or what this Tellius is!”

The second, slightly shorter and bald: Baak “They did save our people, something they didn’t have to do.”

Yass shook his head “Maybe so but remember that Barbyos smuggled someone out of Thyremog!”

“Allegedly!” Baak called back “Allegedly or no, we don’t know enough!” Yass finished.

At that moment a man in a large, layered purple robes appeared at Lytros side, countless charms hung from his clothes “Sir. Senator Jilger from the state of Gren Haus is here.”

“Jilger? What does he want?”

“Not sure, you think he heard of the foreigners?”

Lytros stood “Yass, Baak, Otum, Horats we’ll continue this later.”

The councilmen left as Lytros turned to the man “Yatno, you are a psychic, can you tell me anything?”

Yatno sighed “I wish…but this is beyond me, at the very least I have to meet them first…with everything going on, the chaos-

“I understand…men, let him in.”

The guards opened the doors allowing in an older man, walking towards the throne he greeted the pair.

“My King. Yatno.”

Jilger stood straight, staring at the King, his button up vest and pants were all white as well as a cape that crossed over his shoulder around his side and billowed out behind him, all matching his short white hair.

“What is it Senator?”

“Well I heard about the attack at Blu Run is it true we lost three more ships?”

“Yes, apparently so, why?”

“Well it was the State of Gren Haus that provided the materials and crews for those ships, we were assured Exet was going to protect them. This calls for compensation.”

Lytros cursed “We’ll have your money-“

“Actually I was hoping that you would consider promoting Captain Tol to Port Guard, after all he did fend off the last Barbyos attacks in Low Benet and Sil Tem with minimal casualties.”

Yatno shook his head “We are not going to remove Exet, take your money and return to your state.”

“I see, is this how it’ll be Lytros? I must say you don’t look so safe without your strategist and head commander. Be careful.”

With that the Senator departed.

“He didn’t account for me.”

Lytros and Yatno turned as a woman emerged from the shadows. She had wild red hair reaching the back of her neck, the lower half of her face was covered by a blood red cowl but from behind her red bangs her golden eyes showed.

She wore a red shirt covered by a dark gray jacket, a dark blue strap with several knives attached wound around her body and joined to the dark blue scarf falling out behind her.

Her crossing blue belts held another knife in place and below her blood red pants, there were knives in her black boots, an assassin to anyone who saw her.

The psychic sighed “Uhnie, you’re supposed to stay in the shadows. If anyone else learns you are here-“

“It’ll be fine, I was hired because no one can see me.”

“Still, you know things have been-“

“Foggy?” The psychic nodded as Uhnie looked back in the direction Jilger left “We’re all aware of that…even so he really doesn’t look like the kind of guy who’d dirty his own hands.”

Lytros looked to Yatno “Feel anything odd from him this time?”

The psychic shook his head “There is ambition and desire in his mind but no bloodlust…he has his own state so I’m not sure what he seeks to accomplish.”

“Really? He clearly wants the crown.” Uhnie stated while spinning one of her knives.

Lytros sighed “That’s too obvious…and he is being too obvious about it, there has to be something else…”

Yatno crossed his arms “I’m trying my best.”

“I know you are but…if he doesn’t have interest in ruling Thyremog-“

“He does.” Yatno stated “Just not your crown.”

* * *

 

_The State of Blu Run_

The night air was cool, Mia sat running her hand along the steel of her Wo Dao. Taking out a cloth she began cleaning, barely noting the people of Blu Run that walked by until one stopped in front of her, prompting her to look up.

“Hello…I have no clue who you are but thank you for fighting for us.”

With a smile she nodded “Don’t worry about it, and my name is Mia. If you wouldn’t mind, I’m sure Boss would appreciate it if you spread the word, we’re not bad people.”

He nodded “I can tell…who are you exactly?”

“The Greil Mercenaries…and Emissaries of Tellius…the Greil Emissaries, I don’t know which name works better but for familiarity go with the first one.”

With a smile he bowed to her before walking away.

“Mia, you can’t be out here and you shouldn’t be talking to strangers.”

Turning to Soren she smiled before asking “Why not?”

“We don’t know what this place is like.”

“Yeah and if we don’t look around or talk to people who by the way, from here out everyone we meet is a stranger, we’ll never know anything about these places.”

Soren sighed “Maybe so… “

Noting her Wo Dao he smirked “Calming yourself?”

Mia smiled as he sat down next to her “How can you tell?”

“You always mess with your blade when you’re thinking…but I’d rather you not do so at night and alone in a strange country.”

Finishing with the cloth, Mia sheathed her blade as Soren spoke again “Zihark didn’t mean-“

“I know.”

Soren watched her head fall and raised a hand though he was not sure what to do with it, what was comforting but not…intimate?

Putting his hand down he cleared his throat “He’s really worried he hurt your feelings.”

Mia shook her head “He didn’t…I just…it’s been weeks…”

“They were your best friends. They are your best friends.”

Mia nodded “Yeah…and Leia…she’s wonderful. I can’t imagine what it’s like to have a child. Have you ever thought-“

“No.”

Mia looked to him “No?”

Shaking his head he continued “Me? A child? You know me Mia, what kind of influence would I be? I couldn’t be a…father…if my life depended on it.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“Well I am! And I’ll never do that to an innocent child.”

The pair fell silent, Soren thought back to when he found Mia and they hugged. Between that and heading to Goldoa to meet Almedha he had an urge to tell Mia how he felt, a need.

But once he found out who he was, he couldn’t do that to her. He couldn’t do that to anyone. The Mad King’s bloodline has to end with him.

“Soren? You alright?”

Looking back at he nodded “Fine. I’m fine.”

“I think I hear Zihark calling for us.”

Standing he took her hand and gestured to the barracks “Then let’s go.”

As he turned, Mia brought her other hand up and enclosed his, bringing him to a stop.

“I’m glad to know you worry about me so much Soren.”

“…why wouldn’t I?”

Mia smiled, far brighter than the night should allow “Alright then, let’s go back.”

As they neared the barracks they heard Exet talking rather loudly and frantically with another guard.

“Is something wrong?” Mia asked.

“Well…we received a message from our strategist Hilt’s scout troops. It seems the bandits that attacked here, the Barbyos Legion is making a move on the state of Reed Baum up north…Head Commander Neteau is stationed up there on the lookout for trouble. They’ve confirmed a few dozen moving through the woods, enough to match the small military up there.”

“That doesn’t sound good.” Mia commented to which Exet agreed.

“Why do you have so little soldiers for a whole state?” Soren asked.

Mia noted his harsh tone to which Exet sighed “It’s a long story but to summarize Barbyos has been stretching us thin, every time we think an area is protected they find a way through our lines and blow something up…”

“Who’s setting up your defenses?” At that Mia put a hand on his shoulder “Soren, I’m sure they’re doing their best.”

“There is nothing much we can do to help them, Neteau is undermanned as he left most of his troops to guard the palace out of worry for his king.”

“…and you obviously can’t spare any men.” Soren stated to which Exet nodded.

Meeting each other’s gaze, Soren noted the look in Mia’s eyes.

Entering the barracks, Zihark approached them “I was wondering where-“

Cutting him off, Soren spoke “Rouse everyone we have work to do.”

* * *

_The State of Reed Baum_

The next day found the Captain of Reed Baum: Maz, walking towards Neteau "Head Commander, sir!"

"What is it?"

"Our scouts report at least 30 bandits on the way here."

Cursing Neteau grabbed his spear "They must be after me."

"But how did they know?"

Moving through the town he asked "How many men do we have?"

Maz counted quickly in his head before answering "You came here with 6 Palace Guards, the Reed Baum forces are twenty strong."

Neteau nodded "That should be enough, we can handle this…"

As Neteau prepared to order his soldiers a building nearby erupted in flames and about a dozen Barbyos bandits emerged from the flames.

As the citizens began screaming, Neteau raised his lance "Shit! To arms!"


	9. Web of...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ike speaks with King Lytros while Soren mobilizes the Mercenaries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love this chapter, love it. Its funny in the original version after the Departure Arc it became Soren-centric with Mia having the 2nd most attention and then everyone else, however as I write more I find myself writing a lot for Ike, Titania and Zihark (though he has the advantage of hanging with Soren and Mia)  
> Given Thyremog's scenario though it probably makes sense, if anything it'll change again in the future, who knows?

**Chapter 8 – Web of…**

_The State of Gull Tor_

“Welcome to the capital city of Thyremog: Gull Tor.”

Ike and Titania noted that compared to Blu Run, this place was gigantic, many more buildings and homes and a large castle in the distance, not unlike Melior.

“The King should be waiting for you.” Edal stated.

As the two followed the horseman they did not notice the two men from the Blu Run raid watching them.

“There they are…what should we do Ilk?”

“Kill them, it’ll benefit everyone.” The man stated as Zanzu scratched his head “Are you sure? Barbyos and-“

“I know they didn’t say anything…doesn’t matter. Now come on!”

* * *

 

_The State of Reed Baum_

“Look out!”

Two soldiers raised their shields to stop a volley of arrows only to be tackled from the side by a bandit that proceeded to cleave them open.

As another home burst into flames, Neteau charged forward and impaled a bandit before whirling around and striking another with the flat of his spear, knocking them to the ground. Spinning the weapon he sunk it deep into the bandit’s chest.

“Sir!”

“Maz!”

“The 30 have emerged from the woods!”

“Are your men at the ready?”

“The larger portion is set to hold them off but there are too many!”

“Of course!”

The pair turned to another bandit, larger than the ones they’d been killing with and holding a twin headed axe.

“I am Hetyo of the Barbyos Legion! Prepare to die!”

* * *

 

At the front the city guard was being pushed back as seven of them had already fallen.

“We have to hold the-“

Cut off by an axe the remaining guards kept moving back, barely able to take down a few bandits that were merely using their numbers to ram into them.

At that moment a horse charged through, a man with an axe leapt off and cleaved a bandit to death.

As a few surrounding ones noted him, arrows flew in from afar, killing them.

Emerging from the trees the rest of the Greil Mercenaries swarmed in and began whittling down the bandit forces.

Ranulf shot out, tackling a bandit and snapping his neck before shifting back to face the city guardsman “Hey, where is Neteau?”

“Uh…he…he’s in the town, there was another troop that snuck in from the rear.”

“Soren! Mia!”

Relaying the information the two nodded before Mia turned “Z!”

Striking down a bandit he ran over to them as Soren gestured to Ranulf

“You and Oscar get everyone rounded up once this is handled.”

“Got it!”

With that Ranulf shifted again and took off as Soren, Mia and Zihark entered the town.

* * *

 

_Thyremog Palace_

“So that’s it?” Lytros asked.

Ike nodded “Yes, we just came to extend a hand from Tellius in peace.”

Lytros looked over to Yatno then back to Ike and Titania.

“I take it you’re the psychic?” Ike asked.

Yatno nodded “Yes.”

“And?”

“Well…I sense nothing but…good thoughts. Honest thoughts. You people don’t seem to harbor any ill intent…in fact I feel you thinking rather hard on the statement ‘why would we even bother?’ Am I right?”

Ike chuckled “You are. I had a few doubts that your powers were real. A few.”

“Indeed you did, I felt your uncertainty the second you walked in here.”

Lytros laughed at that before speaking “I suppose this is good to know…honestly when I first heard of you I thought you’d be Islanders but apparently a land called Tellius does indeed exist.”

“I’ve heard that term from Exet, what is Hitenticul?”

The King sighed “A land we used to trade with, we had good relations with them, but once the Barbyos Legion emerged, they began destroying ships that came in from Hitenticul so we had to cease contact until we could assure their safety. Now our ships and infrastructure are under constant harassment.”

Ike and Titania glanced to each other as Lytros spoke again.

“You mentioned you were Mercenaries back in Tellius, in this Crimea.”

Titania nodded “Yes you’re majesty, we were the best.”

“In that case, I’d like to hire you.”

Ike crossed his arms “We didn’t exactly come here looking for a fight…”

“That is absolutely true.” Yatno stated “I really don’t think we should be asking these people to take risks for us, your majesty. In the grand scheme of things they might as well be…tourists.”

“Well, actually we are officially sanctioned Emissaries.” Titania answered.

Lytros held his hands out “I understand that you don’t want to engage in matters that don’t really involve you…what I want is my people protected. The Barbyos raids have been spreading are forces too thin and we’ve been relying far too much on the state of Gren Haus to front our ship building and recruit training. I’d like to have an arm not tied to the Senator’s pockets.”

Ike raised an eyebrow “Someone is demanding money to protect the country?”

“It’s just business, the ships allow us at the very least more manageable internal trade, going around the Ports of Thyremog is faster than caravans crossing the countryside but our ships are the main target for Barbyos. The idea would be using the trade funds from the Gren Haus ships to pay back the State but all our ships including the Gren Haus ships keep getting firebombed and sunk.”

Looking up Titania spoke “Not that I pretend to know the finer points of economy but internal trading is not the most profitable-“

Lytros groaned “I know! But I can’t risk ships going to Hitenticul for aid, there was an incident and we believe Barbyos smuggled someone out of Thyremog to Hitenticul…we’ve no idea who but the fact that happened was enough to convince those on the fence we could not keep contact with Hitenticul. We have to focus on our Kingdom, we can’t bring trouble to others out there.”

“What do you think Ike?” Mulling over the paladin’s statement, Ike sighed “Well, we could use the money…and we are Emissaries, what better way to prove our intentions than to help them with this problem?”

Titania nodded “Sounds like a good idea.”

“And honestly, Lytros…though we just met, I feel that you are a good, honest King. You want us to help protect your people, I noticed walking in there are not as many soldiers around the Palace as outside. That speaks volumes.”

Lytros smiled “Thank you, Ike.”

Yatno clapped his hands “If that is all, we can escort you to your rooms and send out a message to bring the rest of your group here.”

Ike nodded “That would be fine…though I do have one last question. Your majesty. Why is there a woman hiding in this room?”

Lytros and Yatno eyed each other quickly before looking back to Ike. Before Lytros could speak, Uhnie appeared and laughed “Well well…you are definitely as sharp as you look!”

Lytros noted the questioning look in Ike’s eyes “She’s not a threat or anything malicious this-“

“Sir!”

The group turned as a man ran in “Captain Abbard, what is it?”

“Reed Baum is under attack!”

* * *

 

_The State of Reed Baum_

Axe clipping his arm, Neteau fell aside, rolling out of the way as a second sunk into the ground.

“Face me scum!” turning Hetyo smacked Maz’s lance away before punching the man in the throat. Struggling to breathe he fell to the floor.

Neteau raised his lance “I wouldn’t! Unless you want this man’s blood on your hand. Let me kill you and I’ll be on my way.”

Sneering Neteau looked down to Maz then to Hetyo “Why me?”

“Our provider needs to break the establishment or something like that, it includes killing you, Yatno and Hilt.”

Neteau wanted to strike but Hetyo lowered the axe to Maz, any movement and his head would be rolling away.

As Neteau prepared to speak a gale struck Hetyo followed by a woman, shooting in from nowhere and cutting through Hetyo. As he stumbled away he cursed.

Mia smiled, raising her blade “Ready to go?”

Throwing his axe, Zihark landed, his bright red Killing Edge flashed, deflecting the axe with ease. Taking the opening Mia shot over Zihark. Seeing her coming at an alarming speed, Hetyo retrieved another of his fallen weapons just as she landed. Roaring he swung only for her to roll under the blow, standing and spinning quickly she slashed through his leg. Growling he turned to face her, swinging as she leapt away. Zihark repeated her action, slicing into Hetyo’s other leg.

Falling to his knees he cursed, raising his axe to throw it, a knife sunk into his hand. Roaring he dropped the weapon and gripped his hand, turning to see Soren who just smirked.

Focusing on Maz, Soren kneeled and began healing him as Neteau approached Zihark and Mia with the latter speaking “Are you alright Commander Neteau?”

Taking a step towards her, he raised his lance before impaling, Hetyo, twisting his weapon he ripped it out of the man’s chest, causing him to fall forward and bleed out.

“Now I am.”

* * *

 

_Thyremog Palace_

“My King, we can’t go out there-“

Yatno groaned as Lytros stormed away “Come on Yat…you have to know he’s not in his listening mood.

Turning to Abbard Lytros ordered him to gather the troops as Yatno yelled again “You have to be aware of how far Reed Baum is, by the time…”

The door shut causing the psychic to groan again “Uhnie, please.”

Nodding Uhnie followed Lytros with Ike and Titania close behind her.

“Lytros I know you heard Yatno, by the time we get to Reed Baum whatever is going on will be over! And if I may add the bandits would love nothing more than you sticking your neck out so they could cut your head off! There is nowhere safe in Thyremog for you right now!”

“I don’t care!” He yelled as they stepped outside, Ike prepared to say something when he noticed a hand around a corner and scattered bloodstains.

“Lytros!”

Leaping forward he brought the King to the ground as Zanzu emerged, swinging his axe followed by Ilk. Jumping to meet him, Titania stopped Ilk’s blades with her axe.

Uhnie flipped away from Zanzu’s wild axe swings, taking a few additional steps back as he raised his weapon again and slammed it into the ground.

Ilk broke away from Titania, spinning his blades before charging in again. Spinning the Gold Knight deflected the blades again before leaping and striking Ilk’s face with the flat of her axe.

As he spun out Ike stood drawing Ragnell as Zanzu headed for him and Lytros “Stay down!” Ike commanded, preparing to swing only for Uhnie to leap in and kick Zanzu in the face, throwing knives he blocked with his axe.

“Shit Ilk, they’re fast.” Zanzu commented as he aimed his axe at Uhnie again.

“Doesn’t matter! Just kill the King!” Ilk yelled.

The two moved forward again only for Titania and Uhnie to meet their attacks causing Ilk’s frustration to grow. The woman before him, her weapon was massive, he had two blades how could he not cut into her? As his blades hit the axe’s pole he roared “I’m faster than you!” Only for Titania to ram the blunt end of her axe into his chest, pushing him back.

“And nowhere near composed enough to pose a threat.”

Ilk spat looking over to Zanzu who was getting pushed back by Uhnie. His charge was broken by her sinking a knife into his leg.

As the two moved back again, she looked to Titania “Quite the Scarlet Bruiser.”

“Crimson Beauty.”

“Oooh I like it.” Uhnie stated with a wink.

“Time to end this.” Ike commented before meeting Titania’s eyes and nodding.

The Golden Knight dropped to the floor as Ragnell began to give off blue flames. Seeing this, Uhnie leapt into the air. Zanzu and Ilk charged forward again prompting Ike to spin around, unleashing a bright blue circle of energy, striking the bandits and tossing them against the castle’s walls, dazing them.

At that moment, the palace guards emerged, led by Yatno, Abbard and Edal.

“Finally!” Uhnie stated as she landed before gesturing to the fallen Zanzu and Ilk “Take them!”

Walking over to Lytros she helped him up “You alright?”

“Yes, thank you Uhnie, Titania, Ike.”

“You hired all of us for a reason.” Uhnie commented as she looked to Titania “And thank you for the assist.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“We still have to find out what happened in Reed Baum.” Lytros added as Yatno put a hand on the King’s shoulder “We’ll receive word soon enough, please let’s return to the castle?”

Nodding Lytros let himself be led back in, Ike stood watching the guards force Zanzu and Ilk to their feet.

“This isn’t…over…” Ilk muttered as he was led away. Ike sighed “It definitely isn’t.”

* * *

 

_The State of Gren Haus_

A few hours later a note arrived at Jilger’s office.

Reading it over he laughed “And here I thought the Barbyos Legion was a threat. One commander dead, the other two in custody…that leaves only the Head, his 2nd and a bunch of untrained bandits…”

Shaking his head he turned in his chair to look out the window “The country probably sees peace as imminent, and they’re right. My peace.”

* * *

 

_Barbyos Legion Hideout_

“Sir…”

Barbyos looked over to Get, taking the letter in his hand.

Reading it over he nodded with a smirk.

“So?”

“So? It looks like the timetable has moved up…greatly…”

“Are we ready?”

“Our part is the easiest, but just in case…I need something from you Get and something from _him_.”

* * *

 

_The State of Reed Baum_

“That was flawlessly planned, as always.”

Soren nodded “It’s not like the bandits were well trained.

Mia agreed “Yeah, according to Neteau the guy he executed was a commander.”

“Maybe we’re just on another level…”

“We totally are!” Mia stopped upon noticing Soren’s confusion.

“What is it?”

“Something just…doesn’t feel right about all this.”

Zihark appeared “It has been a while since we had a curb stomp battle in our favor, maybe it’s just throwing you off?”

Neteau joined them “Thank you all again, very much. I’ve heard of you foreigners and am glad to know that my worst thoughts about you were false.”

“Not a lot of faith.” Zihark muttered.

Neteau shrugged “The convenience of it all is hard to swallow for anyone.”

Mia nodded “We understand, just glad we don’t have to fight.”

Neteau spun his lance “I wasn’t at the top of my game, even then I’d be no match for all of you.”

Neteau then looked to Soren “So this was all your plan?”

Snapping out of his thoughts, he nodded “Yes.”

“And you came up with it on transit?”

Soren shook his head as Zihark spoke up “He came up with our formations and everything before we even left Blu Run.”

“Impressive.”

“Commander Neteau, is this truly how the bandits perform every battle?”

Nodding the commander spoke “Yes, wild and abusing their numbers against us. The cunning comes in the targets, they scare potential military recruits hampering our military, Fire Bomb our ships breaking our infrastructure and economy. Every once in a while they attack caravans but realizing how much more effective the ships are…”

“Sounds like your strategist is at the core of a planning nightmare.” Mia commented.

Neteau sighed “He is…Hilt can only do so much but he has prevented an attack on Low Benet working with Tol and secured Sil Tem, those states haven’t seen attacks in forever though Hilt believes their smaller size made them less primary among the Legion’s aims.”

“Can you get more soldiers?” Zihark asked.

“We have to pay Gren Haus to take them and train them, and even then it takes a while for a troop to be deployed. During that time we are being harassed and soldiers are being killed. We are spread thin among Blu Run, Reed Baum and Gull Tor as it is.”

As the Mercenaries continued walking along with Neteau to Gull Tor, Soren kept trying to rack his brain.

How did it get this bad? How are mere bandits posing such a problem to the forces on Thyremog? How are they in such abundant stock of these Fire Bombs?

How?

The majority of them were untrained, merely brutalizing people, destroying buildings and using their numbers.

No technique.

So why couldn’t they be stopped?

“Hey Rexcalibur? You alright?”

Soren turned to Zihark “Rexcalibur?”

“Yeah, that’s your best tome right?”

Soren shook his head and looked away, Zihark looked to Mia “I tried.”

She smiled before he continued “…and I’m really sorry.”

“It’s alright Z.”

“No, it isn’t. I’m sorry.”

Still wearing a smile she put an arm around Zihark “Thanks Z.”

* * *

 

_Thyremog Palace_

“So, who are you exactly? Why would Lytros hire an assassin to stand in his room?” Ike asked.

Uhnie finished sharpening one of her knives “Why do you think? The best protection is the kind that you don’t know is there.”

As Ike prepared to say something, Uhnie chuckled “If you know what I mean.”

“What?”

“Really? You didn’t-never mind…either way I didn’t think I’d appreciate having others to fight alongside thought I totally could’ve handled Ilk and Zanzu.”

Ike shrugged “You’re welcome.”

Rolling her eyes she laughed “Whatever. This isn’t the end of it though, Barbyos himself and his right hand man Get are still out there.”

“Are you going to do anything about it?”

Uhnie shook her head “I would but I have to make sure no poisoned food, drinks or hidden weapons make it to the Grand Hall. The King is my paycheck the people are yours.”

“Paycheck eh? Didn’t look that way when you were helping him.”

Uhnie raised an eyebrow “…whatever it is you are thinking is most likely wrong.”

“How do you know what I’m thinking? I just don’t believe you do this for the money.”

“Why not?”

Ike turned away “Because from the way Lytros was talking about Gren Haus basically owning them, I didn’t think he’d have the money.”

Uhnie laughed “That is true, I’m being paid far less than usual.”

“Then why?”

“Not all assassins are gold hounds, take Jilger for examples. He’d have to offer A LOT for me to work for him, he creeps me out.”

As Uhnie fell silent, Ike raised an eyebrow “The one in charge of Gren Haus? The Senator?”

Uhnie sheathed her knives “You ask a lot of questions.”

“Just trying to get the lay of the land, how long have you been employed?”

“There was a meeting some time back between Lytros, Jilger, Baak and Otum, Neteau and Hilt were in attendance as well as Captain Atz, Exet’s predecessor. He was being promoted, upon approaching Lytros he drew his weapon and tried to kill the king. Hilt leapt in and lost an arm for it before striking down the man. Hilt almost died, a team investigated Atz and it turns out he was in league with Barbyos. Lytros sought me out at a local tavern, all he told me was to watch for oddities in his day by day meetings. He didn’t want another of his friends to be put in danger like that again.”

Crossing his arms Ike sighed “That still doesn’t explain why you took the job. Or why his first go to would be an assassin.”

“This place looks to be a political minefield. Atz wasn’t the first, there was a mess at Gren Haus that left Jilger in charge and I subscribe to the belief that not all the Captains that died in battle, died honorable deaths. People want power and status so they moved things along.”

“You are very cynical, I know a few people like you.”

Looking to the moon, Uhnie sighed “It’s pretty late, any more questions foreigner? Or are you going to keep assuming I’m sleeping with the King?”

“No, that’s all…I…what?”

“What?”

“That’s not what I was saying at all!”

Uhnie laughed “Wow. You look to be a strong man, you are a strong man but you’re face!” She kept laughing “Is this the first time you ever heard casual sex talk?”

Ike rolled his eyes and looked away but he felt his cheeks burning “Look if it makes you feel any better, what you were probably actually thinking is right. Lytros and I were friends growing up. He came to me for help and I couldn’t turn him away, the last thing I want is for him to die. Alright?”

Ike sighed and nodded “Alright. Thanks for the information Uhnie.”

“No problem…if you don’t mind I’d like to go chat up the rest of your squad, see if they’re all like you.”

“Please don’t…”

As she laughed Ike got serious again “Uhnie.”

Sighing she raised an eyebrow “What?”

“I get that you think you’re doing well here, you probably are. But if you had a chance to go out there and take down the leaders before they get here…”

Uhnie smiled “Does sound better to take a more active role. Thanks.” With that she winked before walking away, once she was gone, Ike thought over everything she told him. He had to bring it to Soren, so the tactician could work on it and figure out just what is going on, who wants what and why.


	10. Manipulation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With no immediate danger, the Mercenaries relax for day filled with meetings, greetings and theories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blu Run, Reed Baum, Gull Tor, Gren Haus, Low Benet, Sil Tem.  
> Get it?

**Chapter 9 - Manipulation**

_The State of Gull Tor_

The day following the Barbyos Legion’s latest attack was shockingly quiet.

Neteau was sure there would be retaliation for Ilk and Zanzu’s imprisonment as well as Hetyo’s death but nothing came.

The Mercenaries were given rooms in a nearby hotel for their use while Lytros met with the councilmen about another funds request and another reminder from Gren Haus about the ships destroyed.

Hilt finally returned to the capital, asking to meet with the Mercenaries.

Neteau went with him to offer a formal thanks to Ike as well. Brushing it off Ike turned to shake the one handed man’s only appendage “I heard what you did for your King.”

“I heard what you did for him as well, thank you.”

Ike laughed “Not at all, people seem to think highly of you, letting you do what you do and not worry about where you are. At least compared to their concern for Neteau.”

Neteau laughed “Probably has to do with my age, I am getting on in my 40s but I won’t put down my lance till I drop dead.”

Hilt nodded “He’ll be a stubborn 80 year old mule…I’m generally let off the leash because I’m more efficient that way. My scouts and I did finally located Barbyos’ hideout. We were hoping to set up an assault but my advance troop found no one there.”

Ike crossed his arms “Think they’re done?”

“Not at all. It’s quite amazing, you show up and we take off three of their heads. With any luck this will all finally end soon and we can tell Jilger to shove his money up his ass.”

Neteau nodded “Once free of the Legion and off Jilger’s hook we can open up routes with Hitenticul again and…maybe Tellius?”

Ike smiled “I don’t see why not, we’ll draft a form for our Queen clearing you when the time comes, she and the other rulers are close so it shouldn’t be too hard after that.”

Neteau sighed “Sounds amazing this Tellius. Bigger than Thyremog, large nations, these…Laguz?”

Ike nodded and he continued “And Kings and Queens that listen and actually like each other. It sounds like some child’s fantasy...actually there is a third line of people living in Tellius I need to tell you about.”

Neteau and Hilt looked to one another “Any specific reason?” The older man asked.

“Well…racial tensions between Laguz and Beorc were, for lack of a better word not good for as long as I can remember, it’s become much better today. Worse though is a race known as the Branded who were hated by Laguz and Beorc.”

“Branded?” Hilt raised an eyebrow as Ike continued “Put simply, the Branded are children born of a Laguz and Beorc union.”

Neteau tapped his chin “Suffice to say…I didn’t think that was possible, but then again I just heard of Tellius a few days back so…why are they hated?”

Ike sighed “Part of our country’s unfortunate history. Ultimately there was no real reason for them to be hated, the parents weren’t committing a sin or anything. While the hate may never die out I feel knowing it’s perfectly okay helps. And telling you all now for before you go to Tellius…well it’ll definitely smooth things over.”

Smiling Neteau nodded “Thank you for telling us this Ike, I’ll tell my King and we’ll let it be known that it’s nothing abnormal just another way people live. I just can’t believe Tellius is the way it is now…”

“Believe it or not we had to fight and die for years for it to be the way it is.”

Hilt smiled “Oh I believe it.”

“Well, I know you two have to head back to the Palace and resume your duties but thanks for this chat…and Hilt my tactician would like to ask you some questions when you get a chance.”

Hilt smiled “I understand.”

The two thanked Ike again before departing.

As the sun set it seemed things were quieting down, but not for everyone.

* * *

 “Soren! Food!”

Mia knocked a few more times before crossing her arms. Finally she pushed her way in and found Soren looking at many forms, trying to piece together the information Uhnie gave Ike with what he knew about the landscape of Thyremog, while it wasn’t much, it wasn’t adding up.

“Soren…I know this is important but you have to eat.”

Standing, Soren sighed before looking at Mia “I know, I know…it just, frustrates me.”

Mia nodded “Back in Tellius you had everything figured out, this is a new place, give it time.”

Mia took a step forward and took his hand in her own, smiling at him “Shall we?”

Nodding in response, Soren let Mia lead him but his brain never left the forms in his room.

* * *

 “Don’t you have a King to guard?” Shinon commented to which Uhnie shrugged, tossing her knife and scoring a bullseye on the board across the room.

“You people are so much more interesting than a bunch of old men arguing about money, he’ll be fine. By the way, is your boss so…easily flustered?”

Shinon groaned “I don’t want to talk about Ike when I have a beautiful woman in front of me.”

Uhnie rolled her eyes before gesturing to her mask “How can you tell?”

“It’s all in the eyes.”

At that, Gatrie groaned behind him “That never works Shinon!”

“Shut up!” Keeping his eyes on Uhnie he took out one of his arrows and replicated her darts performance.

“Think I’m impressed?”

“Are you?”

Scoffing she retrieved her knife and walked away as Shinon leaned over to Gatrie “She wants me.”

“Those lines don’t work for me, they won’t work for you.”

Shinon just laughed.

At that moment Soren and Mia entered the room, with the latter pushing Soren into a seat and moving his food in front of him before sitting and watching him.

“Mia I-“

“I just want to make sure.”

Sighing Soren nodded “Thank you, Mia.”

Smiling she leaned back “Someone has to watch out for your health. Imagine if you weren’t aware of how much you were losing, when the time comes to act you’ll keel over in hunger. You wouldn’t-“

“…be able to fight back I get it…I…”

Soren narrowed his eyes “Hmm…”

“Soren, no thinking until the food is gone.”

Zihark joined them with his food “Wind Meister!”

“No.”

“Elwind Meister!”

“No.”

“A-“

“No!”

Zihark groaned and started eating before Soren noted Mia “What about you?”

“I already ate.”

Soren narrowed his eyes, sure enough Mia’s stomach gave a low grumble. She blushed as Soren sighed “Mia, I appreciate you watching out for me truly I do, but remember what happened during the war?”

She nodded “Don’t neglect yourself for me.”

“Right…sorry.”

Soren shook his head “It’s fine, now go get yourself some food.”

After Mia left another voice cut in.

“Looks like the Mercenaries have their own psychic.”

Soren and Zihark noted Yatno.

“What are you doing here?” The sage asked.

“Just getting a feel for all of you…it is truly refreshing being near such purity.”

“Purity?” Soren narrowed his eyes “Are you sure you are feeling the correct thoughts?”

“Oh I feel a certain something from the archer over and quite some doubt from your friend here.”

Zihark scoffed “As if.”

“Still, after all the two faced politicians and anger over Barbyos’ action. The feelings you all have or more simple and honest…you especially.”

Soren remained still, clenching his fists as Yatno kept his eyes on him. Zihark raised an eyebrow “Soren?”

Yatno moved to speak only to grip his head  _"Stop."_

" _How are you-"_

Shaking his head, Yatno sighed "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to…intrude in such a way…"

Zihark looked between them oddly as Yatno bowed "I'll be on my way, my King is calling...enjoy your night."

After he left, Zihark crossed his arms "A psychic…"

"Still doubt him?"

“…I see no reason to doubt him…he’s a good guy right?”

“As far as we can tell.”

After a short silence, Zihark leaned in “So…you know about Mia taking hits for you?”

“Yeah…”

Sitting back the Trueblade shook his head “There were so many times it happened during the Mad King’s War. I kept wondering-“

 “…what?”

“What?”

“You mean the war against Begnion right?”

“…no?”

Soren turned to see Mia had her food and was eating it but looked to be in some rather friendly chat with the chef. The pair started laughing at something as Zihark’s voice cut in.

“I asked her ‘why bother Soren will never do anything for you’.”

Soren looked back to Zihark “But she didn’t care, she was proving that she could be trusted as reckless as it was…”

“You thought of me that way?”

Zihark sighed “Not all the time, I never hated you Soren, your plans kept us alive but…well you never…spoke with us as people just soldiers.”

Soren smirked “Mia said the same thing…took me a while to take it to heart…”

“Soren. I’m serious about being your friend. You know this right?”

“Yeah…though you are trying a little too hard.”

Zihark laughed “Touché!”

Mia returned “What are you two joking about?”

“You’re stomach sounded like a roaring dragon.” Zihark stated, Mia gasped “Z!”

“What? Soren said it.”

Soren looked up “What!?”

“SOREN!”

“I did NOT!”

* * *

  _Thyremog Palace_

“Captain Tol, we’re in the middle of a meeting.”

Tol bowed to the councilmen “My King, Yatno, Hilt, Commander Neteau, I understand how busy you are, I come with a message from Jilger.”

“Is it the money again?”

“No. He said that his Private Security Captain Oogram has located Get.”

Lytros stood “What about Barbyos?”

“Nothing about that, Jilger says Get is too close to Gren Haus, he’s a little worried that they may try to attack him for his wealth. He asks for your aid just in case another attack like the one in Reed Baum breaks out.”

Lytros scratched his chin “We can ask the Mercenaries, at the very least a few of them to take a look, I trust they can handle it.”

The third councilman, the portly Otum stood “This is brilliant, if we get him that leaves Barbyos with no personnel aside from the bandits the Mercenaries can easily dispatch.”

The last councilman, the tall and thin, slightly hunched over Horats spoke “Is it wise to credit these strangers with defending our kingdom? Why can’t we do it ourselves? Or better yet, hire Jilger’s forces to-“

“We’ve already paid for their services before, many times. What does it matter who saves our Kingdom from these bandits? As long as we are at peace.” The councilmen turned to Hilt who bowed “I apologize for speaking out of turn my King.”

Lytros shook his head “You are right Hilt. We’ll ask the Mercenaries tomorrow. Do you think they’ll do it, Yatno.”

The psychic nodded “I have no doubt they’ll take the mission.”

“You act as if these people don’t have a single evil bone in their body.” Hilt stated.

Yatno smiled “Evil? They’ve seen…experience many of life’s evils…but it has not corrupted any of them…we are the luckiest people to have the largest possible group of well-intentioned, good hearted strangers come to our docks.”

“Indeed we are.” Neteau whispered before turning to Lytros “My king…if I may.”

* * *

  _The State of Gull Tor_

Soren sat in his room with Mia on his bed messing with her hair “So did you figure something out?”

“Yes…it’s like what you said at dinner.”

“What did I say?”

“About me watching for my health…think of it, the Palace is probably not aware of how much money their losing, how many people their losing. When the time comes to face the Legion, they’ll have no funds to ask for Gren Haus help and not enough soldiers to fight off the Legion.”

Mia raised an eyebrow “I was talking about you and your stomach…how would that-“

“I think we should speak with Jilger…he holds monetary power over the crown yet doesn’t act on it. It’s not safe.”

Mia rolled over to look over Soren’s shoulder “So this Jilger guy has a grip on a rug that Lytros is standing on, the next time he needs financial help he can withhold it because…”

“That’s the question. Why would he want the King so in his debt…is it just to take over as King? The military and council wouldn’t go along with a usurper.”

Before Soren could speak he felt something odd, Mia was now messing with his hair.

“If we did get a meeting with him, what would we say? He wouldn’t just admit to wanting the crown to strangers…Soren?”

Slowly his hand found hers and moved it away from his hair “Sorry.”

“…Mia…is there something you want to tell me?”

“What?”

“I don’t know it’s like you want my attention away from this…”

Mia shook her head, hoping she was imagining the warmth in her cheeks _“Be cool.”_

“Not at all, I know that stuff’s important…I didn’t mean anything odd by messing with your hair it’s just…really nice, you take good care of it.”

Soren remained silent as a knock came to the door “Hey Mia, weren’t you going to meet me outside for some late night sparring?”

“Oh! Right, on my way Z!”

As she stood, Zihark continued “And Soren, Hilt’s here to talk with you.”

“Alright, thank you Zihark.”

Mia looked back at him “Just promise me you don’t spend all night working and asking questions, please?”

Facing her, he nodded “I promise to try and avoid that.”

Mia smiled “That’s as good as it gets I suppose.

After she left, Soren stood, hearing Zihark speak “She’s way beyond your combat partner. Honestly to me the two of you sometimes act like life partners.”

“Life partners?”

“You both worry over each other’s health, it’s nice.”

Soren nodded remaining silent as Zihark continued “If you get done with Hilt early you want to come up to the roof? Mia and I could use a healer or we’ll go to bed sore.”

“If I get a chance…”

“Don’t worry, we won’t hit each other too hard, I promise.”

With that Zihark took off after Mia as Soren headed the opposite way, descending to the lobby where he spotted Hilt.

Just as Ike said, cloth armor, fitting for a strategist and scout captain as well as black hair and eyes, very unimposing. Though most notably was his missing arm.

“You must be Soren.”

“Yes. I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

“Before we begin, the King requests that a few of your Mercenaries go to Gren Haus tomorrow, Jilger has reported Get nearby.”

“I’ll work on assigning a team tomorrow with Ike.”

The two men moved over to a table and sat.

“What do you wish to know?”

“How did Lytros become King?”

Hilt sighed “Well the States on Thyremog, Blu Run, Reed Baum, Gull Tor, Gren Haus, Low Benet and Sil Tem used to operate individually, completely individually, no trade or nothing. Lytros’ father Erektoss had an idea that if they all worked together as one united Kingdom we could expand beyond this land’s borders. The Senators of the States were not too comfortable with the idea so Erektoss asked for soldiers of each nation to come with him, they sailed away. After a month we were sure they died but they returned with the goods of Hitenticul, having this new overseas trade route opened, everyone agreed to unite together, build a stronger port presence and begin trading with Hitenticul regularly. Erektoss’ reign was one of comfort. We never had a King before but why shouldn’t the son follow the father? There was not much logic in looking for fallacies so when Erektoss abdicated his throne, Lytros took over. He sought to keep our trade growing and keeping us as prosperous as his father. It went well though there was that bit with Gren Haus.”

Soren crossed his arms “The Senator position no longer exists right?”

“No, we have Civilian Mayors for the individual towns in the states and Captains of the Guard for each state. Exet for Blu Run, Maz for Reed Baum and so forth.”

“So who is Jilger?”

“A ruthless criminal in Gren Haus broke out of jail…we still haven’t figured out how, but once he was out he went around killing all the mayors and the captain, Jilger and his brother were the last ones. The neighboring captain and his guard came to help and fought off the criminal but not before Jilger’s brother was killed. Jilger argued his state was weak as it was and demanded the power to rebuild it stronger. He wanted total power. With all the mayors and captain dead it would take quite a bit to re-elect and choose replacements so Lytros gave him the old Senator title. He took Gren Haus’ wealth and rebuilt the core of the State into a rather lavish center. The outlying cities however suffered…Lytros demanded Jilger fund projects for the rebuilding and solidifying of his State’s economic status but it never happened. He somehow continued to grow wealthy while the border towns resorted to farming or criminal activity.”

Soren shook his head “This makes no sense. Why is he still in charge if-“

“He made a deal, he’ll help the people if he is given the ship constructions deeds. Lytros talked him down to half of it, so half of trade funds went to Gren Haus, they became wealthier and eventually rebuilt the rundown towns. The story should have ended there until the criminal returned.”

“Barbyos.”

“Yes, with all the others who turned to stealing now as his Legion, they tore apart the border towns that were just rebuilt.”

“That makes no sense, those were their homes…”

Hilt shrugged “That happened. Eventually the Legion shifted from just attacking people and buildings to attacking infrastructure and powerful people. They created the Fire Bomb and started blowing up ships, trade caravans, killing recruits in the midst of training and hunting down Captains, Sil Tem is currently without a Captain because of that…hell they even implanted one of their own, Atz to serve the King. I’m sure you were told that story.”

Soren tapped his chin “They were once wild bandits but now economic terrorists. What do they gain by robbing Thyremog of its wealth?”

“Your guess is as good as mine, you know the rest, ships were no longer safe, the smuggle, Hitenticul routes were closed down and here we are, fighting to keep the wealth we still have, protect our King, our interests, our people all while Barbyos continues to threaten our peace.”

Soren stood “But you are paying Jilger for more ships and troops?”

“What choice do we have? Our troops keep getting killed and recruits don’t feel safe training in any other centers aside from those in the Gren Haus core.”

“But how many troops does Gren Haus give you? If all the recruits from the States are going there…”

“Less than you’d think, it’s enough of a good presence, nothing overwhelming but because of that casualty and turnover rates aren’t the best.”

“Do you think Jilger is keeping some of the recruits for his personal forces?”

“…it’s a possibility but as I’m sure you’re aware, with all the money we owe him we’re not in the best place to call him out on anything.”

Soren tapped his chin again.

_“The Ships. Economy. The troops. Military. What’s missing?”_

“What do the councilmen and mayors think of Jilger’s actions?”

Hilt raised an eyebrow “Its politics, I’m sure you know there are those for him and those against as with anything.”

_“Bureaucracy.”_

“If you’ll excuse me Hilt, I have to plan for our trip to Gren Haus tomorrow.”

Hilt stood, shaking Soren’s hand “Oh? Of course...is that all?”

Soren nodded “More than enough, thank you Hilt.”

“Soren!” Coming to a stop the sage looked back to see Yatno.

Hilt excused himself and left the building as Yatno came to a stop before Soren.

“I’m here to apologize. I’m not usually so…forward with people’s thoughts.”

Soren crossed his arms as Yatno continued “My mind is pulled to minds that are more…complex…it’s a curse really but it was your mind that pulled me here. I wanted to find out why and I took it too far. Again, I am deeply, deeply sorry.”

Soren sighed “Normally I’d walk away now…forget you ever existed but I’m learning to be more…personable. I accept your apology just, don’t ever do that again. Don’t even think about my mind again.”

“I understand. Have a good night.”

With that Yatno walked away. Taking a deep breath, Soren continued his way upstairs, reaching Ike’s room just as Mia found him.

 “Soren…what did you promise me?”

Anything he was going to say was forgotten when he saw the bruises on her arms, quickly taking one of her arms into his hands “Mia, what happened?”

“Huh? I was training with Zihark, we told you that.”

Soren thought back _“Oh right.”_

Mia watched his hands as his fingers ghosted over her bruise “Soren?”

She felt her cheeks warm up as he took his hands away “Sorry I guess I…forgot.”

“It’s alright…”

After a short silence Mia gestured to Ike’s door “Important?”

“Yes…I think I have this all figured out.”

“And you have to do it now?”

“Yes…I know you hate that I don’t get enough sleep-“

“It’s fine Soren, it’s your job.”

“It is…and despite everything I do have you to watch out for me.”

Mia’s eyes widened, looking away she brought a hand to the back of her neck “Right! You do!”

Now she was definitely blushing, turning completely away she spoke “Alright then, I’ll make sure someone doesn’t get you and that you don’t trip yourself while you’re yawning.”

“Thank you.”

Entering Ike’s room he missed Mia’s whisper “You’re welcome.”


	11. Gren Haus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With too many questions in the open the Mercenaries split up and head for Gren Haus to find answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Colors!  
>  **Blu** Run, **Re** e **d** Baum, Gold/Gull Tor, Gre _e_ n Haus, Yel **low** Benet and **Sil** ver Tem

 

**Chapter 10 - Gren Haus**

"Barbyos.”

“…what?”

“This part of the plan…is the key part, is your end-“

Turning Barbyos slammed his axe at the foot of the stranger “I have it all set! What of you? These foreigners are making you look like a joke!”

“How so?”

“Heh, feel free to act like you have everything under control. I’ll join them in mocking you when it falls apart.”

“Is that how you repay me for my gift?”

Barbyos laughed “Gift? You knew you had to do it yet you’re still covering your ass and faking control…not to mention I demanded it from you. So it’s less a gift and more you following my orders for once.”

“Faking control? The control will be real enough soon, go to Gren Haus.”

Barbyos clenched his weapon tighter as he walked away _“We’ll taste your blood soon enough.”_

* * *

 

_The State of Gull Tor_

The Mercenaries stood at the edge of the town, in two groups.

Ike looked over to Soren “Are you sure about this.”

“I am. Very.”

Ike sighed “Alright, we-“

“Hey, hey!”

Turning they spotted Uhnie and Neteau approaching.

Soren raised an eyebrow “You’re the King’s shadow aren’t you? You shouldn’t be-“

“Look, the sooner the players are caught and jailed the sooner this job ends...besides someone made the active role sound much more enticing.”

She looked over to Ike who then looked to Soren “I think its fine to have her along, she’s efficient that much is clear.”

Soren nodded “I’m sure but aren’t you friends with Lytros? Why do you want-“

“It’s not about being tired of guarding Lytros, it’s about being tired of having to worry so much.”

At that Soren’s eyes widened “He’s a good guy but he can’t see the people around him turning into sharks, I can. The sooner this wraps the sooner he can get back to being a King and these exposed sharks can be jailed.”

Ike nodded “Well-“

“We’re still not boning though.”

Ike groaned, Soren on the other hand was so thrown off he could only cough “I’m sorry, what?”

“Nothing Shorty, couldn’t miss the opportunity. Which team do you think I’m best for?”

“Shorty!” Zihark cried out as Mia face palmed next to him.

Ignoring him Soren spoke “You should go with Ike to deal with Get.”

“Really? You’re going to chat with Jilger on your own?”

Soren shook his head “This isn’t just about talking Jilger, there is more to it. We’ll go under the guise of a meeting but I’m certain the missing pieces to this puzzle are in the core of Gren Haus so I need to get in there.”

Uhnie shrugged “Oooh…espionage.”

Clearing his throat the group turned to Neteau with Uhnie laughing “Right! Neteau is coming along as well.”

Before Ike could ask a question Neteau spoke “Get and the Barbyos Legion have done enough damage. As Uhnie says, I am done waiting to defend against an attack. I’m going out there and protecting my country.”

Ike nodded “I understand.”

Uhnie laughed “He lays it on a little thick but he has the King’s trust for his loyalty.”

“And ours.” Soren stated before gesturing to Ike’s group.

“So to make sure everyone is in the right place, hunting down Get is Ike, Shinon, Boyd, Oscar, Ranulf, Mist, Uhnie and Neteau…coming with me to Gren Haus to see Jilger is Mia, Titania and Zihark. We’ll be leaving Gatrie and Rolf with the King, just in case.”

“The kid?”

At Neteau’s statement, Soren nodded “He’s an ace, trained by Shinon. He’ll be fine.”

“Better believe it old man.” Shinon added.

Uhnie looked over to Titania, Zihark and Mia talking “Are you preparing for a fight?”

“No, but just in case…also we operate in pairs whenever we can. Mia’s my partner.”

Uhnie nodded “I see…how do you keep up with her?”

“I have my ways.”

Uhnie laughed “Good answer.”

Soren rolled his eyes “Is everything a double entendre to you?”

“Yes.”

“We’re done here.” With that Soren joined the other three and they started on their way.

Turning to Ike, Uhnie prodded him with her elbow “So Titania is your partner?”

“No jokes, I’ve had enough.”

* * *

 

_The State of Gren Haus_

“Jilger.”

“Yes Oogram?”

“The foreigners are on their way here.”

The Senator nodded “I expected as much, they’re sharp but it doesn’t matter, what does matter is the preparations. How are they going?”

“Nearly done…actually, Tol from Low Benet is here to speak with you.”

Jilger sighed “Is this about the promotion again or did something go wrong?”

Oogram shrugged “Probably a mix of both, maybe more of the former, he didn’t say.”

“Let him in…and go meet the group after Get, tell them where you saw him.”

“Yes Sir.”

With that Oogram departed as Jilger prepared for Tol’s arrival.

* * *

 

_Thyremog Palace_

“So it’s just the two of us?” Rolf asked.

Gatrie laughed “Yep, an we’re going to pull everyone’s weight!”

Rolf sighed “They get to go out and do espionage-y spy stuff or battle evil bandits to the death and we’re on guard duty?”

“Look at it this way.”

The pair turned as Yatno approached “They took four people to Gren Haus and many more to look for Get, leaving only the two of you to protect the entire Palace and the King. You know what that tells me?”

Rolf smiled “That they trust us.”

“Indeed they do and I can tell just by looking at the two of you-“

“And feeling our thoughts.” Gatrie added to which the psychic added “Yes that too. You are both warriors, one may be lax the other young in comparison to his compatriots but you are still here. You fought through the same things as your allies did…that speaks volumes in it of itself.”

Gatrie put an arm around Yatno and laughed “Thanks for the inspiration but don’t worry about us! We’re going to keep this place so safe the guards will all retire after today!”

Yatno chuckled “If we ever live in a time where we don’t need constant protection that will be a blessing.”

“We fought for peace for so long, here we are in new tumultuous settings. Part of me wonders what was the point…”

Gatrie and Yatno fell silent looking to Rolf. He brought his face up, with a smile “Then I realize…sure Tellius is at peace, but is that really all that matters when other lands out there aren’t? They’re full of the same kind of people, innocents, children, elderly, families who could all be at any level of risk…”

“And we’ll be there to help them.” Gatrie finished before laughing “We’re awesome.”

Rolf joined him, bringing a smile to Yatno’s face “I appreciate your aid.”

* * *

 

_The State of Gren Haus_

Getting out of their carriages, Mia looked back, they passed the outer limits on the way here. Abandoned was putting it nicely, those towns looked like ruins of an ancient civilization.

Looking at the state of the main town she couldn’t believe such a difference existed.

“Whatever is going on here, it isn’t normal.”

Zihark nodded to Mia “That much is certain…so Shorty, what are we doing first?”

Soren sighed as Titania dismounted her horse and laughed “Uhnie is actually taller than you Zihark and by comparison you aren’t _that_ much taller than Soren.”

“Damn it…I give up…Soren, again, what’s first?”

Soren gestured ahead, “Jilger will be waiting for us in the Senate House. We’ll go in under the guise of wanting to have a normal chat with him. Whatever he tells us or if he tells us anything doesn’t matter. We’ll be in and-“

“That’s when we snoop through his stuff, right?” Zihark asked to which Soren nodded.

Titania tapped her chin “Well, it’ll be easier to go through his offices when he is in the middle of a meeting.”

Mia nodded “That is true…so what are you thinking?”

* * *

 

_Gren Haus Outskirts_

“Out here?” Ike asked.

The group arrived at their meet point with Oogram who told them Get was most likely out in the sticks. Now seeing how bare it was, it was hard to imagine anyone could hide out here.

“Shinon, Uhnie, keep an eye out.”

“Roger.”

“On it.”

The two strolled away as Ike approached a rather dilapidated home. He remembered what Soren told him last night about how the very people chased out of here returned to destroy their newly rebuilt properties.

It confused him as well but he knew Soren could figure it out.

Neteau walked up to him “This place is sad.”

“Everything Soren told me of what happened here in Gren Haus. You all know Jilger is up to something right?”

Neteau nodded “We do but Yatno, our psychic assures us Jilger doesn’t want the crown...you met the man, his powers are real.”

“Maybe so but what if he is working for Jilger?”

The commander shook his head “Absolutely not…Yatno has been at the King’s side since he took the crown.”

“You never thought to get another psychic to make sure Yatno was clear?”

Neteau shook his head “We know.”

Ike sighed “The most common betrayal is those of a friend.”

Neteau looked down, no anger, or frustration. “I know…but I refuse to entertain the idea. Either way, he tells us that there is desire and ambition in Jilger’s heart but it’s not for Thyremog’s crown.”

Ike scratched his head “Then what else could he want?”

Near them Shinon was kicking dirt, brooding.

“So while we’re out here looking for poor saps to kill, Soren’s sitting in an office reading papers. Nice.”

Uhnie laughed “Well out of all of you he is definitely the smart one.”

“Pfft whatever I mean seriously, investigate Gren Haus? What does he hope to find? If they’re really bad why would they just leave a form saying as much anywhere on the premises?”

“Well Shinon, Soren actually read quite a lot of books on the politics of Thyremog while he was here including Jilger’s own biographies. The man is rather vain and considers himself better than everyone. He is also constantly reminded us how secure his Core is. As of now he has no reason to expect the foreigners expect him of anything but that Soren fellow just caught onto him like nothing, seems to be the kind of guy who can’t let riddles pass by him without taking all the steps to solve them.”

Shinon groaned “He can’t turn his brain off.”

“He just needs a good ol turn on.”

Shinon looked to Uhnie “Soren?”

At that the marksman started laughing uncontrollably “Him? C’mon please tell me you don’t think that’s possible! You’ve seen him right?”

“Yes, he’s rather attractive.”

“Not that, you saw _him_ right? He’ll never settle down with anyone.”

“He doesn’t have to settle down, one night’s enough.”

Shinon continued laughing as Ranulf approached “Hey! Keep it down!”

After easing up, Shinon continued to chuckle “You really have to spend more time with us.”

Uhnie looked back to see Boyd join Ike and Neteau while Ranulf turned into his beast form and began prowling.

“As I said, you are all very interesting.”

“Alright, let’s move on, there’s nothing here.”

At that, Uhnie made her way over to Ike “By the way…there is something I’ve been meaning to ask.”

Ike looked at her “What?”

“How did you know I was in the throne room?”

Neteau snapped his fingers “I heard of that, very impressive.”

Ike shook his head “Not really…I just learned to look for the slightest bit off, I had to less I jump out of my skin every time Volke said hello.”

Uhnie raised an eyebrow “Volke?”

“Yes, an assassin I knew back in Tellius, the man was a shadow’s shadow. He never struck me as a bad guy but I could never get used to how he just popped up out of nowhere. Thanks to him though I’ve become rather suspicious and aware of shadows and of the sense that someone is watching me.”

“That is indeed impressive, I suppose you have to thank this Volke for something.” Neteau stated with a laugh.

“Yeah, thank him for the years he took off my life.”

As the pair laughed, Uhnie remained silent, the joking light in her eyes gone.

* * *

 

_State of Gren Haus_

“Tol…that is no longer a matter to me.”

“But you said-“

“It doesn’t matter what I said then Tol, listen to what I’m saying no. No.”

Tol cursed and turned away “Then-“

“Then what?”

“Then what do I get for all this?”

“I’ve decided to alter my plans a bit since the unforeseen…obstacles arrived but I have been assured that this will all work out. So here is what I want you to do Tol.”

The man turned to see Jilger holding out a piece of paper.

“Do it now.”

Tol took it just as a tall woman with long red hair entered the room, smiling “Senator Jilger.”

“And you are?”

“Titania, Deputy Commander of the Greil Mercenaries.”

She stepped aside as Tol walked past her.

“Where are the rest of your people?”

“Most are out looking for Get, no offense to the ones that came with me but I don’t think they have quite the ability to speak with politicians like I do.”

Jilger grinned “Alright then, what is it you wish to speak with me about.

* * *

 

Soren, Mia and Zihark stood outside.

“Think she’ll be fine?” Zihark asked to which Soren nodded “Of course, now we-“

The three spotted Tol exit the room and walk away, Soren noted the paper he put into his pocked “Mia and I can handle looking for what we need.”

“We can?”

“Zihark.”

Zihark followed Soren’s gesture to Tol as the man rounded a corner “You can count on me Soren! I won’t let you down!”

“I know you won’t, good luck. Mia!”

The three split up with Zihark cautiously following Tol.

_“Now…where are you going?”_

* * *

 

_Gren Haus Outskirts_

“How much farther out do we have to go!?”

“Boyd! Shut up!” At Mist’s urging the man resorted to grumbling lowly.

“We’re much farther out than I thought we’d be.” Oscar stated.

Ike came to a stop “We are.”

Looking about he actually took in just how bare their surroundings were.

Everyone stopped with Shinon drawing close “Ike?”

“We’ve been walking too far.”

Oscar turned around “I can barely make out Gren Haus.”

“Damn it! Go back!”

Ike yelled just as the Legion exploded out from the ground, all around them.

_“If only I put two and two together as fast as Soren.”_

“This is a set up!”

The Mercenaries drew their weapon as Get approached “Indeed it is, now that we have you here…and Commander Neteau, good to see you.”

“You bastard, showing yourself to me just assured your death!” He aimed his weapon at Get as the man pulled out his own lance “Attempt whatever you wish foreigners…we’ve already won.”

Ranulf smirked before shifting “You are greatly overestimating your abilities.”

Get shrugged “Maybe.”

At that moment two men came to his side, Uhnie cursed “Zanzu! Ilk!”

“Hey!” the former yelled while the latter pulled out his blades.

“You were imprisoned!” Shinon spat.

“And we got paroled!” Zanzu fired back.

“Impossible! Is there someone else of the Legion in Gull Tor? Right now?”

The three laughed before Get yelled back “Wouldn’t you like to know!”

“What now Ike?” Mist asked.

Ike still holding Ragnell reached behind him and pulled out Alondite as well “I came prepared. Greil Mercenaries! Attack!”

* * *

 

_The State of Gren Haus_

“What exactly are we looking for Soren?”

“The money.”

“The money?”

Soren nodded “To say Gren Haus is rich is putting it very lightly, yet all Jilger has down is build himself a lavish home and neglect everywhere else.”

“Well yeah, cause he’s a piece of shit.”

Soren came to a stop and looked at Mia who looked back at him “What?”

“I just…you don’t normally speak so…openly…if ever.”

Mia stood up straight “Did you see what we passed through on our way here?”

Soren narrowed his eyes as she continued “The Outskirts? How he expected his own people to live? It’s no wonder they turned to thievery…he demanded the power to rule his State, trampled over the innocent people, got them killed by their brethren who turned to crime and for what? Money?”

“It’s often the case.” Soren stated, Mia turned away angrily “Too often.”

“Mia…is there something you’re not telling me?”

The woman sighed and shook her head “Now is not the time for it…”

“I’d…I’d be fine with meeting after all this is done and listening. Whenever we have the time.”

Turning back to him the smile returned to Mia’s face “I’d like that…”

After a beat the pair returned to looking through the forms with Soren clearing his throat “Back on…topic and to specify I’ve been going over everything I know about this country’s political landscape and everything is adding up without adding up, something else is going on.”

“And you think Jilger is the core of it?”

Soren nodded as he threw aside another folder “If he wanted to take the crown he’d need military might and political sway. He has his own private force here and at least half the politicians think his approaches are preferable, he is rich after all, they figure something is working.”

“Right?”

Soren stopped and looked at her “So why does he need MORE money?”

Mia raised an eyebrow as he continued “He is offering his services as a way of siphoning the crown’s money for his own, according to Hilt’s story, Jilger didn’t use any of it for the outskirts of his own State, instead focused on building this core, why?”

“Didn’t we just cover the piece of shit thing?”

“We did and he is…but that can’t be it. He did eventually build new homes, only for them to be destroyed…I’m not sure to what level the economy here is in comparison to Tellius but he was ordered by Lytros to provide for the people of the Outskirts. He fronted the funds for the projects, they were destroyed so the construction crews were compensated for their time, in Gren Haus everything goes to Jilger.”

Mia nodded “So he destroyed the buildings for his own payday?”

Soren tossed yet another folder, realizing his desk was empty he groaned only for Mia to hold one in front of him. Thanking her he sat down and began flipping through it “If all he needed was money to buy councilmen and mayors, convince military captains to join him, he’d have been done then, but he is still making more…and the fire bombings of the ships. How could a ragtag group of bandits have those kinds of weapons? Remember that he also strong armed the ship construction deeds from the Crown, more properties his State is funding that are being destroyed.”

“Yeah…and if the bandits are destroying his ships it makes him look just like another victim to the general populace, right? And given his money is it safe to assume he fronted development of the Fire Bombs?”

As Mia finished Soren nodded “That a possibility and I think I found what for.”

Mia walked over and looked over Soren’s shoulder “Wow. Why is 70% of his wealth going there?”

Soren narrowed his eyes “Low Benet is the smallest State on Thyremog, the guard is led by Tol the man Jilger was meeting before us…what would a small state need with this much money and all these materials…”

Mia whistled, the numbers…that was a lot of wood, metal and cloth as well as a myriad of captains. Far too many captains.

“Thyremog doesn’t have that many captains…”

“You two done in here? Or am I interrupting?”

The pair turned to see Titania.

Unaware of her suggestion Soren stood “Yes, there is something of note up north in Low Benet we have to see. Let’s go find Zihark.”

* * *

 

Peering around a tree, Zihark saw Tol and Oogram the two were mounted on horses and met a few minutes ago but hadn’t moved for a bit. A carriage came up followed by a large group of soldiers, it was the Gren Haus Private Guard.

Zihark narrowed his eyes as Tol approached the carriage and spoke. After nodding the detachment began moving.

“What do we have here?”

Turning Zihark took a blow to the face and fell to the ground.

A large man lifted his wicked axe and aimed it at Zihark.

“Barbyos!”

“I was on my way north, good thing I stopped to make sure today’s events went off smoothly.”

Standing Zihark pulled out his blade “What are you planning?”

Barbyos laughed “Me? I’m a do-er not a planner. I kill, I steal, I destroy, I smuggle. Plans are not for me…”

“Then why?”

“Power! Influence!”

Zihark moved in, his sword meeting Barbyos’ axe “Petty, I should have figured, the big man the name the people fear is just a man with an axe that kills. Rather uninspired if you ask me.”

Barbyos laughed as he broke away from Zihark exchanging a few more blows before their weapons locked “Am I? See I was born in Thyremog but I’ve hated it since birth…I wanted to destroy it, starting with the place of my birth. Gren Haus. I was locked up for my initial crimes until one day…I was let out…”

Steel boot met abdomen, knocking the wind out of Zihark before the bandit spun around and struck Zihark along his face with the axe. Stumbling away Zihark felt another boot to his back and fell to the ground.

"I started killing everyone I could and then I met Jilger. I had him and his brother dead to rights but he said something interesting…I asked why would I pass on whetting my appetite? As good as his deal sounded I wanted blood. He threw his partner in crime, his own brother to the wolves...or in this case, to the homicidal maniac. The man let me kill him in return for my aid when...the time came."

Standing Zihark charged again, blade and axe meeting.

“What did he promise you!?”

“It’s like I said…power…influence…on a scale worthy of me!”

Grabbing Zihark’s face Barbyos lifted him into the air, striking Zihark’s arm with his axe, leaving a deep bloody wound and causing the man to drop his sword “You’ll learn soon enough.”

Roaring he slammed Zihark into the ground and stood back up.

“Or rather…you won’t.”

Raising his axe he sunk it into Zihark’s chest.

Standing, Barbyos smiled “You people always misjudge my speed…my power. My axe will never fall to a blade.”

Laughing he walked away.


	12. Coup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Under attack in the Outskirts, panic in Gren Haus and something coming for the King...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uploading again because as of just a few minutes ago I wrapped up the Thyremog Arc! Woo!

**Chapter 11 - Coup**

_Gren Haus Outskirts_

Roaring the legion fell upon the Mercenaries, as always they relied on their numbers, around 40 of them just charging into the Mercenaries blades.

Get gestured to Ilk and Zanzu who laughed before leaping in.

“Boyd!”

“I’m on it!” The man turned, swinging his axe with all his might smashing it into a bandit’s face, breaking his skull.

Mist turned to him “Thanks!”

“Hey assholes! Try to get my wife! Just try it!” He roared as he swung his axe, killing another bandit in one blow.

Oscar leapt off his horse, there were too many men close by to move with it efficiently, drawing his lance he fought them off to the best of his abilities.

Two fell before him as Shinon neared yelling,

“Pick on someone your own size!”

Neteau came to Oscar’s side, both men pierced through the bandits, covering each other “You’re movements have finesse.”

“I was a Royal Knight in the past, not unlike you.”

Neteau smirked “It shows.”

Uhnie shot past them alongside Ranulf, knives flashed and body’s dropped as Ranulf roared, leaping onto an unsuspecting bandit from behind and bringing him to the ground.

Zanzu struck one of his men aside and sunk his axe into the ground in front of Uhnie. “You!”

“Revenge? Wow you are PETTY!”

Swinging his axe she leapt over it, tossing a knife that he evaded by rolling away.

“I’ll kill you!”

“Yeah sure, whatever.”

Ike cut through several more bandits with ease before noticing Ilk, using Alondite he stopped the man’s blades. Leaping aside Ilk spat “Where is the red haired bitch!?”

Ike narrowed his eyes and charged forward, emphasizing each of his strikes against Ilk’s weapons with a word “Don’t! Talk! About! Titania! That! Way! You! Piece of shit!” The last swing shattered one of Ilk’s blades and threw him to the ground.

Struggling to stand he screamed “Get!”

The 2nd in command leapt over, sinking his spear into the ground Ike stood on.

“Crying for help? That’s just sad…”

“H-he’s a demon!”

Ike moved in again as Get spun his lance around “And you are a piss poor excuse for a bandit, stand and fight!”

As Get and Ike battled Ilk found grabbed his now one sword and leapt back into the fray.

* * *

 

_Thyremog Palace_

Lytros sat, head in his hands “Gone?”

Yatno nodded “I’m sorry my King I don’t know how their evil presences got away from me...”

Edal sighed “No guards are missing, no corpses found. It’s like the door was opened and they just walked out.”

Gatrie and Rolf who were standing aside eyed each of the men in the room. Yatno, Abbard, Hilt and Edal. Thinking the same thing, did someone here let them out?

“I’m sorry, my men let them escape...I-” Abbard was cut off by Hilt.

“No, it was my fault, I positioned the guards, someone must have snuck through our defenses…again…and let them out…possibly Barbyos himself. We still have no idea where he is.”

Lytros stood “There is no point in worrying about their escape, they may try to launch another attack. Abbard, Edal, Hilt call in the Palace Guard and set up defenses just in case. Yatno, the bell…if any of you see something suspicious just think about Yatno and the bell, he receive your thoughts and ring it, preparing us all for battle.”

“Don’t forget about us! Ike left us here for a reason!” Gatrie stated.

Rolf nodded “We won’t let you down.”

“Thank you, Ike assured me you are all the best of the best…thank you.” With that, Lytros bowed towards them before his men took off to prepare.

Yatno came to a stop near them “Would you two mind accompanying me to the roof?”

“Scared?” Rolf asked to which the psychic shrugged “We are preparing for a full scale attack from the Legion…I am a little nervous yes.”

Gatrie shrugged “What can it hurt, lead the way.”

* * *

 

_The State of Gren Haus_

Stepping outside, Soren, Mia and Titania began searching the yard “Ask anyone if they’ve seen…”

Titania came to a stop and looked around “Where is everyone?”

Soren noted the silence as well, no one was patrolling “All the soldiers are gone.”

Mia looked to Soren “Do you think…”

_“Is Jilger moving…already?”_

“It’s us.”

The three kept looking as Soren spoke “He sees us as a threat so he moved ahead with whatever his plans are.”

“I’m guessing it’s safe to say that he took off for Gull Tor already…”

Sighing Titania stepped outside the Gren Haus Core walls.

Soren nodded as Mia walked past him calling for Zihark “Things could get really bad…we can’t hope to catch up to them before we get there and Ike’s out looking for Get.”

“For all we know it may be a wild goose chase.” Titania commented as she brought a hand to her chin “We’re all being played.”

“Not just us. The entire military has been getting overpowered by these bandits for months…no matter how many troops they have or how well thought out their plans are the bandits find the smallest opening to exploit and cause havoc.”

Titania sighed “What could this all be for?”

“SOREN! TITANIA!”

Hearing Mia’s scream, Soren moved without thinking, followed a few seconds later by Titania.

“Mia what-“

Soren came to a stop seeing Mia with Zihark, the man was laying on the ground, blood trailing from his mouth and a rather nasty wound on his arm. The sage’s focus however was to the gaping wound along his chest, deep red and staining his clothes and the earth near him, he could even make out a few exposed and splintered bones.

“Zihark.”

Soren approached followed by Titania “Zihark, can you hear us?”

The man coughed “Yeah…”

Soren examined his wounds, his sword arm was not a problem but his chest.

“Barbyos…went north…”

“Forget Barbyos! Soren! You can help him right?”

Soren shook his head “What do you mean?”

“Mia.” Titania whispered.

“It’s fine Mia…”

“Z…you’ll be alright.”

Coughing blood, Zihark tried to laugh and smile, succeeding at neither “You guys…have much more…important things to worry about.”

“Don’t say that Z! You are plenty important! Soren!”

Nodding Soren took out his staff as Zihark spoke, lower than ever “C’mon man…I’m a lost cause…”

The sage nodded “I know. But I won’t let you be...I’m not…I’m not going to give up on you Z.”

A small, barely discernable smile came to Zihark’s face as Soren held his staff to the man’s chest, as expected it was doing nothing. Closing his eyes Soren focused, despite everything telling him it was no use, he had a feeling that there was a chance…a very slim, chance.

“Soren?”

“I’m trying…Mia…I really am…”

Hearing the strain in his voice, Mia fell back “I know…I know…I’m sorry.”

He opened his eyes to see Zihark closing his.

Shaking his head he focused on the staff “No, no, no…I don’t care what I think I know, you aren’t dying here Z!”

He felt Titania’s hand on his shoulder “Soren.”

“No!” He yelled, she retracted her hand.

He heard Mia sniffling “Soren…its…it’s alright…”

_“No it’s not!”_

It was then that he felt something…almost like magic.

But not the magic he was used to.

It was tied to his books or the staff in his hands, there was something swirling inside him.

Those thoughts were familiar, focusing on it he allowed himself to be taken back.

* * *

 

_“It comes…from here…”_

_“That doesn’t make any sense.”_

_“Doesn’t it?”_

_“No. Magic as we know it is tied to some sort of physical medium it has to be called from it, a book, a staff you name it…it can’t just…be.”_

_“Soren…I’ve used it, saved lives with it since I was young.”_

_“I know…and I can’t understand it.”_

_“And you have to?”_

_“I do…only you can do it?”_

_“To my knowledge…as with all who shared this brand before me.”_

_“…”_

_“But maybe…if you try.”_

_“Me? Look at me, Micaiah. You can bless people with your life, save them because you are kind. Selfless. Why would someone like me, have a gift like that?”_

_“Soren, I’m far from perfect…there are things I wish I could take back, I let myself and my country get controlled so easily…”_

_“Still…I don’t believe I can do it…no matter what.”_

_“Well maybe you just need to find someone to care for, care about and see what it’s like.”_

_“….there are people I care about.”_

_“Friends?”_

_“…”_

_“That’s a good start…but the best is to have something like Sothe and I. Love.”_

_“Well then I definitely won’t be mastering this art, as if I ever could.”_

_“C’mon Soren…what could it hurt to try?”_

* * *

 

_“Indeed. What could it hurt to try?”_

Focusing on the strange sensation inside, Soren tried to direct it to the staff, help with the healing properties.

However it stopped at his hands, not moving into the object at all.

Releasing one hand he lowered it to Zihark’s chest. Focusing he felt a sharp pain shoot through his body as the feeling in his hand intensified.

Gritting his teeth he ignored the pain as long as he could before falling back and passing out, barely hearing Mia and Titania call his name.

* * *

 

_Thyremog Palace_

“So we just…think about you?”

Yatno nodded “Just think about my name and bell. I won’t hesitate to ring it. Everyone will have their weapons up and be ready.”

Rolf whistled “Convenient.”

“Glad you stuck with me.”

Rolf shrugged “Well the guards wanted Gatrie to lend some of his ‘expertise’ honestly I don’t think Gatrie has been given this much attention and renown in so long. He’s really living it up.”

Yatno smiled “Well the man is the quintessential knight. Stalwart and strong…I’m sure most the soldiers here can’t even believe he is as effective as he claims with such armor.”

“Believe us he is way faster with it than you’d think.”

The psychic laughed “Oh I believe it…though…where is your bow and arrows?”

Rolf reached behind and laughed “Whoops…I’ll be right back.”

Yatno smiled “No need to rush.”

As Rolf hopped down he looked back “Psychic senses telling you we’re safe?”

“No. I’m just…being positive.”

* * *

 

“Guessing you got nothing down here either, eh Abbard?”

The captain shook his head “No Gatrie…I’m glad but also incredibly tense since we lost Neteau…for an old man there is no one I trust in battle more.”

“I know that feeling…honestly I didn’t expect the rest of my team to be gone for this long…well at least Soren’s group should be back, they were just talking with Jilger.”

“Speaking of.” Abbard gestured, a caravan was approaching with a few guards escorting it, one holding the Gren Haus banner.

“What is Jilger doing here? Before my guys?” Gatrie asked as he and Abbard entered started walking towards the Throne Room, running into the strategist.

“Hilt, Jilger’s on his way.” Abbard stated causing the one armed man to sigh.

“Again? I’ll go meet with him, see what he wants…where are the mercenaries?”

Gatrie groaned as he walked away “I wish I knew.”

Walking down the hall the Marshall nodded to a few guards as they took off to their positions.

“Might as well go see Rolf and Yatno…hopefully-“

A palace guard appeared around the corner, one Gatrie spoke with about proper shield use. Smiling the Marshall held his hand up to wave as a spear tore through the soldier and he was dragged back behind the corner. Quickly, Gatrie darted into a room and peeked out to see a few Gren Haus soldiers emerge, weapons at the ready.

_“Shit…those are definitely not bandits which means I’m in the middle of a good ol’ fashioned coup…now what did they say. Think about Yatno. The Bell. An Attack.”_

Gatrie focused to the best of his abilities. _“Alright…he should have gotten the message.”_

Noting the three Gren Haus soldiers getting closer he tightened the grip on his speak “Alright…my turn.”

Emerging from his hiding spot he ran one of the Gren Haus soldiers through before bashing the other with his shield. Pulling the weapon out the first man fell and bled out as Gatrie’s weapon collided with the last one, spinning around, hitting the second man with his shield again he clipped the first soldier’s arm.

With the appropriate distance achieved he stabbed another, pulling his weapon out with force he rammed the back end of it into the third man’s stomach. Turning he spun the weapon and impaled it in the last guard.

“Rolf!”

Groaning he started along noticing that the bell was not ringing, cursing he decided to do it the old fashioned way and started yelling “The Palace is under attack!”

* * *

 

_Gren Haus Outskirts_

Rolling away, Uhnie continued to evade Zanzu, whereas Ilk was prone to the quiet anger except when utterly frustrated, Zanzu was just wild all the time.

“C’mon is this how you hit on all women?”

Crashing the axe to the ground again, Uhnie leapt onto him, using her legs she wrapped them around his head, rolling over and flipping him along with her, tossing him into the dirt.

“Try again!”

Standing Zanzu spat “Get her!” Four more bandits charged her, smirking she reached behind her and pulled out a short sword, striking one axe and turning, ducking under the second and eviscerating the weapon’s wielder. Gripping his torn open body as his innards fell out the man fell over. Sheathing her blade Uhnie flipped over a thrown axe and tossed three knives. Two took out the last man’s eyes while the other stuck to the first man’s chest.

Dropping his weapon the man ran a few feet screaming about his blindness, only for Zanzu to strike him down “You’re all worthless!”

He looked to Uhnie as she neared the man pulling the knife out of his chest, before he could act she slit his throat open “C’mon Zanzu, let’s have a little one on one time!”

Alondite flashed, knocking Ilk away again. He turned just in time for Ike’s leg to strike his face causing him to spin and hit the dirt. Turning Ike stopped Get’s lance with Ragnell before picking up his leg again and kicking the bandit in the gut. As Get stumbled away, Alondite and Ragnell flashed and unleashed two powerful energy waves, striking Get and tossing him several feet away.

“We’ll wear you down eventually!” Ilk screamed charging in and swinging his blade, Ike twisted away the weapon cutting through his cape slightly. Facing Ilk now he flipped away, his boot catching Ilk’s chin and snapping the bandit’s head back before he fell to the dirt again.

Turning to Get who was standing again Ike aimed Ragnell at him “This distraction won’t keep us for long!”

“We’re aware, that’s why we moved all our time tables up! Everything else is already done, you are wasting time!”

Roaring Neteau charged in, bashing Get with his shield before leaping and kicking him away.

“The old man’s come out to play?”

“I’m here to kill you and free my country from your terrorism!”

“Pfft, you can try!” Charging forward Get leapt and kicked Neteau’s shield aside, spinning the lance barely scraped along Neteau’s armor. Calling out to the rest of the bandits he railed them “Come on maggots! This is for our glory!”

Ike turned in time to leap away from Ilk “Die!”

Continuing after him, Ilk swung madly, Ike blocked the strikes easily passing by Neteau as he and Get’s spears struck each other before the former leapt back and threw his, Get knocked it aside and moved forward.

An arrow struck his shoulder, throwing him off balance and allowing Neteau to roll aside and retrieve his weapon.

“Thank me later!” Shinon called before turning his attention to the rest of the battle.

Neteau smirked moving forward, spinning and swinging his lance about, deflecting Get’s and cutting him across his chest “Old man!”

Moving forward he grabbed the commander’s lance and stuck it to the ground before bashing Neteau with his shoulder.

Ike leapt away and unleashed to energy waves, knocking Ilk into the air before tackling Get away from Neteau.

Seeing him on the floor, Ilk charged him. Acting quickly the Commander grabbed his lance and stuck it out. Ilk ran himself through, screaming before moving away, dropping his blade and gripping the spear.

“I’ll do it for you.” Neteau ripped it out and headed for Get.

Standing, Ilk turned and started to limp away.

“I won’t…die…here…”

An arrow struck his leg and he fell. Shinon sauntered over “Geez, some people just don’t know the right way to take out the trash.” Pulling out one of his arrows he sunk it into the back of Ilk’s skull, the end ripping out of one of Ilk’s eyes.

* * *

 

_The State of Gren Haus_

_“I feel like I ran from Crimea to Gallia and back…I just want to sleep forever…”_

_“…”_

_“Hm? Someone is there…”_

_“…”_

_“Right…no time to rest, as much as I’d love to for once…now is not the time.”_

Opening his eyes, Soren inhaled sharply before coughing.

“Soren…oh I was so worried!” Mia embraced him.

“About me? What about-“

“Me?”

Soren looked past Mia to see Zihark, Soren noted that not only was the wound gone, it looked like Zihark was never struck in the first place.

Titania gestured to the Trueblade’s arm “Missed a spot.”

Soren tried to move, Mia released him “I’m sorry…I just…”

“It’s not that…” His body was numb, he couldn’t even stand.

“Sorry Zihark, the arm is going to have to be done the old fashioned way…I can’t stand let alone heal…

Falling back to the ground, Zihark stood “Soren!”

“I’m fine…”

Titania stood “We have to get word to Ike about Gren Haus’ deployment.”

Mia helped Soren sit up “What about Barbyos? And Low Benet?”

Zihark picked up his blade and sheathed it as Titania helped clean and wrap his wound “Like I said, he’s headed north. Low Benet is that way right?”

Soren nodded slowly “We need to go after him, Titania with your horse you’re the fastest, go warn Ike.”

She nodded “You three can handle Barbyos?”

“I can barely stand.”

“My primary sword arm is garbage.”

Mia looked to Titania “We’ll be fine.”

Nodding slowly the knight took off for her horse “I hope so, good luck.”

Mia helped Soren stand, he found himself leaning into her more than he thought “I got you.”

“I know…”

He looked to Zihark “I’m glad you aren’t dead.”

“I’m glad I’m not dead too…now I’ve got a second chance, Barbyos won’t show me up again.”

“Not with us there.” Mia added.

“Z.”

Zihark turned to Soren and smiled.

“We got this…”

* * *

 

_Thyremog Palace_

“Edal!”

“Why are you screaming about an attack!?”

“Gren Haus soldiers are attacking, I swear, I saw one of our guys get killed and killed three of em!” He gestured to his bloody lance.

“Shit, I’ll let everyone know…wait why didn’t you-”

“Yatno? I tried! Nothing!”

Edal fell silent before shaking his head “No…he can’t be a traitor.”

Gatrie cursed “It doesn’t matter! Get everyone set to attack! I’m going to see if something happened to Yatno and Rolf! Protect your King!”

Gatrie took off as Edal turned around and started making his way to the throne room, yelling “To arms! To arms!”

* * *

 

“What the-“

Lytros stood as his guards and Abbard raised their lances “Edal is calling everyone to battle…but what about Yatno?”

Abbard cursed “Either way, we’re in a bad position…not to mention that Hilt marched outside on his own to speak with Jilger.”

Lytros shook his head “It’s a trap…you all have to go and-“

The door was kicked in, allowing eight Gren Haus soldiers to rush in, Abbard gestured to the two men “For the King!”

* * *

 

Walking into his room, Rolf noted the voices calling an attack and cursed “I walk away for a few minutes…”

As he reached for his quiver his door flew off its hinges. Two Gren Haus soldiers aimed their weapons at him “The boy! Kill him!”

Taking two arrows from the quiver he fell to the floor and rolled beneath their spears. Quickly he stabbed one guard in the leg with an arrow before shooting to his feet and leaping away.

“You little bastard!”

The second charged him, Rolf leapt high, kicking the man back before tackling him. Gripping the blood arrow he lifted it and rammed it through the man’s throat, his screams became gurgled messes as blood bubbled out his wound.

The injured soldier limped over and swung again. Flipping over the spear Rolf jumped and impaled the man in the neck like his comrade.

Grabbing his bow and quiver properly he turned just in time to see Gatrie run by his room calling for him.

Running outside as he slung the quiver around his shoulder he called back “Gatrie!”

The man skidded to a halt and turned “Rolf! I thought you were with Yatno!”

“I forgot my bow and arrows so I came to get them…perfect timing, what do we do now?”

Gatrie turned, still thinking about going to meet Yatno, then looked back down the hall in the direction of the throne room “We have to protect the King.”

Rolf nodded “Then let’s go!”

As the two ran, Gatrie glanced out the window to a patrol of palace guards, meeting and getting orders only for Gren Haus troops to appear and kill them all in seconds before departing.

_“Shit.”_

* * *

 

“I need you three out on the balcony, rain arrows on Jilger’s group from above! You four clear out the halls up here, you five go down to find where they are entering and killing them all! You four with me, to the throne room!”

“Yes sir!”

Edal turned and moved out with his troop as the others spread out.

* * *

 

_Gren Haus Outskirts_

“Get! We’re almost alone!” Zanzu called out as another knife tore through his arm. Leaping away he gestured to the five men, four now that Boyd crushed another one.

“I have a plan for that!”

Get took off with Ike close behind followed by Neteau “You aren’t escaping!”

“Get wait for me!” Turning to Uhnie he cursed and charged her again bringing his axe up only for Uhnie to jump towards him and stick a knife in his wrist. With all her might she twisted is, snapping the bones in his hand.

Falling to the ground clutching his limp hand he screamed “You-“

“Bitch? Don’t I know it!” Pulling out her short sword she placed it close to his throat “Hold still.” Lightning fast she whipped around and kicked it, embedding it deep into the bandit’s throat. Ripping it out, blood spewed out against her clothes before the body fell over. Sighing she looked down at herself “That doesn’t wash out.”

“Looked really hot though.” Shinon stated, casually walking over as he shot out an arrow, killing the last bandit.

“I know, why do you think I did it?”

“Get!” Ike yelled.

Laughing he revealed several Fire Bombs “Catch!”

Quickly Ike grabbed Neteau and fell back as the Mercenaries jumped away. Going off all at once the land before them erupted in flames.

Sitting up, Neteau cursed “He’s gone…”

Oscar walked over “We have to get back, they were just a distraction…who knows what’s happening at the Palace.”

Ike nodded “Right. Ranulf you’re the fastest-“

“Ike!”

Turning he spotted Titania approaching, the group moved towards her as Ike spoke “What happened?”

“On the way, come on!”

* * *

 

_Low Benet Outskirts_

Peering around a corner, Zihark once again noted almost no one was about. Every so often a civilian walked by but not a single city guard was in site. According to Zihark the captain Tol went with Oogram and Jilger to Gull Tor, did they take all the Low Benet soldiers as well?

Mia held onto Soren, who still could barely function “We’re walking into battle like this? Every inch of me is disgusted with the fact that I’m okay with this plan.”

Mia laughed “We’ll be fine Soren…just focus on getting your energy back.”

Nodding he called out “Z, anything?”

“Nope. Again. C’mon.”

As they walked Soren tried to ignore his contact with Mia’s body, she was so warm and soft, it was very inviting but the last thing he was going to do was pass out.

Stumbling, the ground did not find him thanks to Mia “Soren are you sure you don’t need a break?” She asked, they had been moving as fast as they could to catch up to Barbyos.

“We can’t rest…not yet…”

* * *

 

_Thyremog Palace_

Everywhere was the same, dead Palace Guards and hardly any Gren Haus soldiers.

“They are routing us…”

Gatrie commented “Flawlessly.”

Rolf shook his head “How?”

The pair came across a few Gren Haus troops and took them out but right now they looked at a large group that had reached the throne room before them.

“We have to find another way in.” Gatrie stated to which Rolf nodded.

* * *

 

Abbard struck another down, feeling a blade cut through his leg, flipping around he rammed his weapon into another traitorous chest and felt another cut along his back, swinging around he struck a man’s face with his weapon so hard it snapped back and he fell, neck at an odd angle.

Dropping his spear Abbard spat blood.

Thirteen dead bodies littered the floor of the throne room including the two men that fought at his side. Looking to the door, Abbard noted another dozen walking in. One moved forward and sunk his blade in Abbard’s leg, bringing him down to his knees.

The doors opened again, in walked Senator Jilger and two more guards escorting Edal, Yatno and Hilt, all three men clearly wounded were thrown to the ground.

“My King I couldn’t ring the-“

Oogram stepped forward and slapped Yatno “Be silent!”

Lytros sat back, clenching his teeth looking to the Gren Haus soldiers at his side preventing him from moving.

“My King. I believe you know what comes next.”

Tol and Oogram brought up the rear, the former taking his spear and impaling Abbard. As the captain fell dead Jilger began walking towards Lytros with a smile.

“What is this all for?”

Leaning in close, Jilger whispered “The world.”


	13. Ambition and Desire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jilger reveals his ultimate plan as the battle for Thyremog reaches its climax.

**Chapter 12 - Ambition and Desire**

_Gren Haus Outskirts_

“You have faith in them?”

“Soren, Mia and Zihark?” Ike nodded “All the faith in the world.

Titania smirked “That means a lot more now doesn’t it?”

“I can’t believe I let you convince me to come along!” Uhnie yelled “If Lytros is dead when we get back I’m going to murder you and vandalize your corpse!”

Ike sighed “I’m sorry Uhnie, but if what Soren found out is true, then this was never supposed to happen this fast. Us arriving and apparently upsetting the delicate balance tipped Jilger’s hand.”

“Lytros kept telling me that Jilger didn’t want the crown but what else is there!?” Uhnie yelled in frustration.

Neteau sighed “I came out here to stop this and only allowed it to happen.”

“We were all being manipulated…put where we had to be so this could go off without a hitch.” Titania shook her head “There is definitely a traitor in Gull Tor, whoever he is he’s been playing you all for as long as this mess has been going on.”

Reaching the Gren Haus Core the group realized it would be awhile before they reached Gull Tor.

“Here’s hoping Gatrie and Rolf can handle the Palace…”

At Ike’s statement Neteau nodded “And the guards…at the very least they can hold off for as long as possible…give us all the time we need.”

* * *

_Thyremog Palace_

“They could barely fight back…” Rolf muttered, looking to another group of four guards, throats slit.

“This was well planned, we didn’t give Jilger enough credit.”

Gatrie nodded as he pulled his spear out of a fallen man. “What’s this?”

Kneeling down he picked up a small bag with a few orbs in it.

“Fire Bombs…”

Gatrie looked up to Rolf “We might not have been able to save the guards but with this we can get the King out of here.”

* * *

_The State of Low Benet_

“Here we are…”

The three stopped to see many soldiers, no doubt the whole Low Benet military running back and forth, as well as several tall poles in the distance.

“We need to find higher ground.” Soren stated “To see what this is all about…”

The three moved to a rather big building, hiding just as a few soldiers rushed out talking about Fire Bombs.

Moving inside the three found it to be empty save for a few stray crates and bags, “The stairs…”

As Mia helped Soren towards the stairs, Zihark moved over to one of the bags and opened it “Well shit…these things are just full of Fire Bombs…why would they need this many? Are they planning on blowing up Thyremog? I thought they wanted to rule it.”

Mia shook her head “I’m not so sure anymore.”

Reaching the roof the three stood in awe over what they saw, Soren cursed “That’s what he wants.”

* * *

_Thyremog Palace_

Jilger tapped his foot as the Councilmen were led into the throne room.

“Y’know Edal, I expected more fight from you.”

The 2nd in command remained silent.

“You can speak up, we’re not going to kill you like Abbard…well not yet.”

“Jilger.”

Turning to Lytros, he smiled “Yes?”

“What do you mean by the world?”

“…the world…everything…you see, Lytros. What you, Neteau, Edal, Yatno and all your allies including the shade Uhnie…”

Lytros’ eyes widened at that “…don’t understand is that you think too small.”

Gesturing towards the councilmen he nodded. Yass and Horats stood, taking out small knives and stabbing Baak and Otum multiple times.

“Yass! Horats! You too!?”

Yass sighed “Once we heard of Jilger’s plan…what he wanted, and how he had a surefire way of getting it. There was no question of what we wanted to do.”

The two walked over to Jilger as Baak and Otum fell dead.

“Now that the whole coup is here…” Jilger state, breathing in “I’ll tell you why, Lytros. I want the world, I need the world, I have since I learned of your father’s exploits.”

“My father?”

“Yes, you see. Growing up I sought to dominate Gren Haus and eventually become King, rule the land…be larger than life but then your father revealed the existence of other lands out there…for the longest time I thought it to only be one but ruling Thyremog AND Hitenticul…now that was beyond my imagination so I started planning it. I had the brains to put this plan years ago. I sought an unstable ally and found one in Barbyos, I needed his brute force and let him loose on Gren Haus after he was imprisoned…well, my brother and I did. Not that he knew, after he killed my family and the captains and the mayors he came to us and we revealed we helped him. The crazed man still wanted blood so I gave him my brother in exchange for his fealty…see he grew tired of killing on Thyremog so I presented him the ability to kill wherever and whoever he wanted! I gave him the biggest possible mess of chaos and told him to go nuts and he jumped on it! Anyway, with Gren Haus I could start building my military and finding like-minded allies, both which required money…which I’ve been siphoning from you every chance I got.”

Jilger laughed before gesturing to his soldiers "You send me recruits and I...determine if they should join me."

Lytros narrowed his eyes "How would you know?"

Jilger grinned "I merely tell them to stand at attention while I...talk of theoretical situations involving foreign lands. Foreign wars. What if one country wanted to conquer another and so on...I'll know which of the soldiers sent to me want to side with me within a few minutes."

Yatno's eyes widened, Jilger snapped his fingers and pointed at the man "It is as you imagine my dear Yatno. I am a psychic. From my 'what if' speeches I can tell from how their minds respond who among them has the dormant need to conquer, to explore, to be known as legends! The first overseas conquerors in millennia if ever! I send you those that I can see don't have the desire…the ambition and keep mine…my military is larger than any here…but that wasn't enough."

"But how? How could no one know that you were a psychic!?" Lytros demanded, Jilger tapped the side of his head "Remember what I said earlier? I let Barbyos loose on Gren Haus, he killed my family and close...acquaintances. Everyone who knew of my abilities. It was necessary for a gambit such as this. In addition I never rebuilt the border towns because the money was going elsewhere. To Low Benet."

Lytros looked to Tol, Jilger nodded "Yes he convinced the Guard to join me as well, those who didn't, Tol took care of him. I didn't ask how but it didn't matter. Then the money did its thing, materials and the like to construct…"

Jilger walked to Lytros again, getting in his face "…my fleet."

* * *

_The State of Low Tem_

Soren, Mia and Zihark stood on the roof of the empty warehouse, watching a few hundred soldiers run to and fro, stocking the fleet of several dozen warships with Fire Bombs. The sails were being pulled up, Jilger was planning an invasion.

“Where are they going?”

At Zihark’s question Mia shook her head “Hitenticul? Tellius? We have no way of knowing! But we can’t let them go!”

Zihark gestured to the Fire Bombs in his hands “Luckily we have the instrument of their destruction, use one of these to ignite the ones on the ships, take em down that way.”

Soren nodded “We can also use the Fire Bombs to scatter the soldiers, get them away from here.”

“Guys! Look!” Mia pointed to a large man at the foot of one, rushing the soldiers.

“Barbyos.” Zihark muttered.

“If we’re going to do this we have to do it now.” Mia stated.

Soren pushed himself off her “We each take a bag.”

Mia put a hand on his shoulder “Are you sure you’re up for this?”

“I have to be.”

Sighing Mia nodded. Zihark turned “C’mon then!” As he took off Mia embraced Soren, despite his better judgment he hugged her back as she whispered “Please. Be careful.”

“I will…and you as well…”

* * *

_Thyremog Palace_

“You built a fleet!?”

“Yes, and bought off everyone who knew about it. Tol kept the position secret while Yass and Horats here helped me move the money. Oogram was a ship captain once so he instructed all my captains…and Barbyos is just the insane man to lead the charge.”

Lytros shook his head “You’re a fool! Hitenticul and Tellius are larger, they have more people! They-“

“Don’t have a navy. This will probably be the first time in thousands of years a naval assault from any country was launched! With all the Fire Bombs we have, we’ll raze the kingdoms and seaside towns to bits and mount an attack. Believe what you will about us as a species but there are in fact those who just want us all to burn. They’ll see my coming as what they’ve waited their whole life for and join my cause! Soon! This world! WILL! BE! MINE!”

An explosion went off behind Jilger, throwing his men at the door to the ground and setting the area aflame, shortly after another blade erupted near the throne. Gatrie tore through the damaged wall, flooring the guards at Lytros’ side “Come on!”

Rolf rolled out of the smoke, shooting several soldiers in the neck “Edal! Hilt! Yatno! Get up! We’re out of here!”

The three stood and began running, Rolf felt his quiver get ripped away and tripped. “Stop!”

Edal, Yatno, Lytros and Gatrie came to a halt, looking over to Rolf. Hilt stood on his back aiming a blade at him “Unless you want this boy’s head to roll.”

Lytros shook his head “Hilt?”

Gatrie cursed as Hilt smirked “You in the blue, throw your lance and shield to the ground.”

As he did so Jilger stood and dusted himself off “That…would have worked if Hilt hadn’t convinced me to keep him undercover for a bit longer. I wanted to walk in here with him at my side to see the despair on your face Lytros but seeing it now is far better.”

“Why Hilt!? Why join Jilger!?”

Hilt laughed “Join Jilger? I set up the finer points of this plan, I held it together!”

Gatrie snapped his fingers “That’s how the Barbyos Legion was able to outmaneuver the Captains, you are the strategist you gave them inherently flawed plans!”

Hilt shook his head “They’d have picked up on the flaws…”

Waving a finger he chuckled “See…the plans I gave everyone were brilliant…I then used my skills to create the perfect counter plans and gave those to the Legion. That’s how we cleared out the Palace so quickly, I knew where everyone would be place so I displaced them.”

“You had all the men who believed in you killed!?” Edal yelled.

Hilt gestured to the bodies around “Yes? See Jilger’s plan was good but he was a little reckless with how he set it up…I found out about it and had him dead to rights…but the more I thought about it…the more I realized…there is more to this world. Who is going to care about Hilt the Royal Strategist to the 2nd King of Thyremog in Hitenticul? In Tellius? In whatever forsaken lands are out there. In the grand scheme of things the good I’ve done for Thyremog means…nothing…”

Rolf spat “So that’s it? Instead of being known in Thyremog as an honorable man you want to be known in the world as a monster!?”

Hilt raised his foot and slammed it into Rolf’s back again, then wound back and kicked him the side “Don’t speak about things you don’t understand…”

“It’s like I said.” Jilger continued, crossing his arms “Ambition. Desire.”

“So what now? You have your fleet, why hold us all prisoner?” Gatrie demanded.

Laughing Jilger shook his head “We want the world…that includes Thyremog. Killing all of you here solidifies that end, are you not following any of this!”

“Speaking of…the fleet should be on their way…we have a ship off the shore here which we will be boarding…we’re going to wave the flags of Thyremog and go to war.” Hilt added with a smile.

“You’ll bring war here!” Lytros screamed.

Jilger nodded “We will. That is what Barbyos wanted…more conflict, more chaos, more death…he is a dog…and perfect for our plans.”

* * *

_Gull Tor Outskirts_

Seeing smoke coming from the palace Neteau cursed “We have to get in there now!”

Ike nodded “I’m well aware, we need-“

Uhnie stood and reached into her jacket, pulling out several Fire Bombs “An entrance?”

Ike gestured for the Mercenaries to move in, but stay low and quiet before looking to Uhnie “You’re prepared for everything aren’t you?”

Uhnie winked “Oh you have no idea.”

* * *

_Low Benet Docks_

Barbyos looked to the sun as the first ships pulled up their anchors and began moving. “Chaos…”

Inhaling deeply he smirked right as a massive explosion that sounded like explosions within explosions continued to ring out, he turned as four ships erupted in flames.

Then the docks burst into flames, several soldiers were incinerated while others ran screaming.

“GET ON BOARD! WE LEAVE NOW!” Boarding his ship he grinned, the chaos was already starting.

* * *

“You!” Mia put a Fire Bomb down and turned to the three soldiers who found her “What are you doing!?”

“What am I doing!? Have you taken the time to see what you’re doing!? You are going to invade lands that did you no wrong!”

The three men charged her, gritting her teeth she moved forward, tripping one before knocking a blade away and rolling aside from the third. Jumping in again she cut along one man’s arm, flipping around and impaling him from behind, her blade gleamed, sticking out of his chest. Twisting she threw him off her blade into his comrade.

The first man regained his footing and moved towards her, swinging his blade. Parrying his strikes she noticed the man on the floor push his ally’s body off and reach over to grab a Fire Bomb.

Eyes widening she kicked her opponent away and leapt off the building as it erupted in flames, hitting the ground hard, the wind was knocked out of her. Coughing she struggled to regain her breath, barely making out a burning sensation along her back.

* * *

Seeing the explosion, Soren cursed _“Mia…please be alright…”_

Shaking his head he continued moving forward, remaining out of the way of the panic. Using his magic he shot the Bombs high into the air, landing them on the ships as they went off, taking the ship and crew with it. Soren noted that several were pulling away, they had to get aboard one to catch up to them.

* * *

Going for the more obvious method, Zihark cut down the Port Guards, standing at the edge and throwing the Bombs to the best of his ability, even the ones that landed in the water were powerful enough to rupture the ships’ hulls and sink them.

* * *

Limping slightly Mia noted the ships, no doubt Soren and Zihark were going to board, she had to get there on time. Ignoring the pain she sprinted, spotting Soren soon enough.

“Mia, you alright?”

Ignoring her aches she nodded, the pair leapt onto the rigging of a ship as it began to move away. Seeing Zihark on the docks Mia called out “Z!”

Instead of going after them he boarded a different ship.

Mia turned to Soren “What’s he doing?”

* * *

“Sir we lost-“

Barbyos kicked the man with his boot “It doesn’t matter…we have enough for an attack…all we need to throw the world into chaos is one attack. Remember that!”

“Barbyos!”

Turning, he couldn’t stop the surprise from showing in his face as Zihark pulled himself onto the deck. Several soldiers aimed their weapons at him.

Holding his hand up, the Legion leader laughed “Put them down men, you’ll just get them shoved up your ass.”

Doing as they were told, Barbyos kept his eye on Zihark “So…revenge? I believe you were the one who called me petty.”

“We all have our petty and pride ridden deals…this is mine.” The Trueblade from Daein pulled out his Killing Edge, he knew he was using his weaker arm but he had to.

Barbyos sighed and grabbed his axe “I am impressed that you survived but this battle will be as sad as the previous one, if not worse, you have to know this.”

Remaining silent, Zihark took his first steps towards Barbyos.

* * *

_Thyremog Palace_

“Jilger, Hilt. Get is in position, we can go now.”

Jilger nodded to Tol “Well Lytros, how does it feel knowing your country is the center of a world war?”

“Jilger. Hilt. You have to know…you have to know how wrong this is!”

“Resorting to begging? Here I thought you were a King.” Hilt stated before laughing.

“Tol. Oogram. Kill them all.” Jilger stated as he and Hilt began walking away.

Several explosions rang out around the Palace, Jilger looked up as Hilt laughed “Looks like the foreigners are back.”

Without waiting, Hilt took off, Jilger followed with the councilmen moving, Yass called to them “We’re going with you two right?”

Jilger came to a stop “Yes! Come on! The rest of you, kill the foreigners!”

As the four left, Gatrie and Rolf turned instantly, ripping the spears their captors were holding as another explosion rang out, Ike, Neteau and Uhnie burst into the room, Ike swung his blades, beams cut through several men.

Tol charged the new arrivals as Oogram charged Lytros. The King was grabbed by Yatno and thrown to the ground. Rolf threw his lance “Edal!”

The man grabbed out of the air and parried Tol “Traitor!”

“Blind dog!”

As the fight broke out in the Throne Room, the rest of the Mercenaries swarmed the halls, hunting down the Gren Haus soldiers. Outside civilians could only look on as the sun fell to the horizon and the Palace bled smoke into the orange sky.


	14. Blood and Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Mercenaries VS Jilger's Coup...the time is now!

**Chapter 13 - Blood and Fire**

_At Sea_

Calling on the powerful torrents of Arcwind Soren blasted three more soldiers off the ship before turning and striking another soldier, however this time the gale was only enough to push him back a bit. Mia leapt in and cut the man down.

Moving near Soren, keeping her blade pointed at the enemies she asked “Are you alright?”

“Apparently not…”

The soldiers moved in and Mia ran out to meet them, keeping a good gap between them and Soren.

The sage clenched his fists, he was still tired and Mia was fighting alone. _“Damn it…I can’t…I can’t protect her alone like this…”_

* * *

Barbyos laughed as he pushed Zihark’s blade away, standing still as Zihark moved in again. Weapon knocked away he stumbled and fell. Barbyos gestured to the other soldiers to laugh and they did.

“This is what you wanted?”

Standing, Zihark roared and swung again, Barbyos stepped aside “Really?” Moving back and away from each swing he laughed before catching Zihark’s arm and ramming his knee into the man’s stomach, twisting his arm about he flipped him over and slammed him onto the deck.

Walking a few feet away he sighed “Let me know when you actually start trying alright?”

Standing Zihark spat before gripping his Killing Edge “I’ll never stop trying.”

Barbyos nodded “Good. This will be a fun game until we reach wherever we’re declaring war on first.”

* * *

_Thyremog Palace_

Neteau struck Oogram in the back, knocking him down before attempting to impale him. Rolling to his feet the man brought up his blade and launched himself at the older man.

“You can’t keep up Neteau! The years have slowed you!”

“I’m not dead yet!”

Uhnie landed near Lytros, throwing knives into two approaching guards, leaving them open for Gatrie and Edal to kill.

“We have to get out of here!”

“Uhnie, you’re still on my pay! Jilger! Hilt! Find them! Kill them!”

“Sir, I-“

“We can’t let them drag Thyremog to hell, this is the country we’re talking about we are far beyond me!”

Looking back she spotted Ike easily handling Tol and Neteau pushing Edal back as well as Gatrie and Rolf doing battle with the horde of Gren Haus soldiers.

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. I have far more protection here…Yatno, where are they, can you feel them?”

Yatno closed his eyes “They are…heading due east to the south end of Sil Tem’s border…there is an inlet there probably with a ship. Get is most likely with them as well.”

Uhnie nodded and took off.

“You stupid foreigners! Why did you have to step in this!?” Tol screamed as his blade bounced helplessly away from Alondite, moving back Ragnell barely cut into his chest plate.

“We didn’t come out here to met out justice…we came to make peace.”

Tol spat “You are interfering with matters that don’t involve you!”

Moving forward the blade met Alondite again, sparking “Why!?”

“Because you have to be the worst group of conspirators I’ve ever met!”

Swinging his blades, Ike disarmed Tol, then swung back around and cut his right hand off. Screaming the man fell back, gripping a strewn about blade with his left hand.

Aiming it awkwardly at Ike “You’re goal is impressive. Ambitious. But the fact that those in charge, Barbyos, Jilger and Hilt couldn’t hold it in until after we left…that is the one mistake you made. We didn’t come to Thyremog to stay here indefinitely and definitely not to play politics…instead of letting your situation cool you all accelerated it. You were doomed to fail.”

Raising his blade weakly, Tol was cut off as Ike pierced a lung with his blade, forcing the man to the floor. Blood poured out of his mouth as Ike ripped his weapon out.

“Get them!” Turning Ike noted two dozen more Gren Haus Soldiers pouring into the Throne Room. Edal, Gatrie and Rolf surged forward to meet them.

Looking back he spotted Neteau and Oogram dueling but Uhnie was nowhere in sight.

“Titania!” the woman just entered the room, swinging her mighty Silver Poleax, taking a man’s head with it before spinning around and ramming it into a man’s stomach. Pulling her weapon out he fell over before she turned “Ike.”

“Can you handle this, I’ve got somewhere to go.”

“Are you sure?”

“We have to cut off the heads.”

Smirking the Gold Knight nodded “Very well, I’ll take care of this.”

* * *

Outside the Palace, Shinon nailed another traitor before seeing Uhnie shoot out into the wild “Now where are you headed.” Leaping off the banister he landed and started following her.

* * *

_At Sea_

As the last man fell dead, Mia gripped her arm, blood running down it.

“Lucky shot.”

Soren neared her, taking her arm but she pulled away “No…save your energy.”

“Mia-“

He then noticed something else, her back, the clothes were tattered and beneath her skin was very badly burned. Putting a hand to it he felt Mia twitch.

“You’re fighting like this? When did this happen?”

Touching the burns, Mia twitched “Oh…I didn’t even notice that…must be from when that guy set off my Fire Bombs…”

“Didn’t notice? Mia! I need to-“

Turning to face him she smiled “Don’t worry about it…at least, not yet. We have a job to do.”

“You are far too selfless Mia…please let me do this for you.”

Shaking her head she continued “Later alright? I’ll take care of myself, I promise.”

Winking she gestured to the other ships around them. Using his magic, Soren launched several more Fire Bombs, destroying the ships.

“Your promises don’t fill me with much certainty anymore.”

“I’m sorry.”

He wanted to argue but he couldn’t, he already said it, she is too selfless.

“We have to go.” Before she could ask, Soren put an arm around her waist “Soren?”

Propelling them into the air, they landed on another ship, a bit too roughly. Acting quickly, Soren spun around, unleashing a circular wave that did not harm but pushed, knocking most the crew overboard.

_“Have to save my energy…”_

“Mia!” Standing she spun her Wo Dao “On it! We still need to find Z! Can’t let him fight alone.”

* * *

Knocking his foot out from beneath him, Zihark fell on his back, Barbyos stomped on his chest, then reeled back and kicked him across the deck.

“What is this? A distraction? For what? We’re already out at sea! A fleet at my back, even if you kill me, those ships will continue on, war is happening. Accept it.”

Zihark spat blood and stood back up, wiping his face “I’ll tell you when it comes down to it…”

Charging Zihark leapt over Barbyos, holding his blade up to meet the axe as it came around. The force knocked him to the ground and acting quickly rolled aside, dodging the steel boot that tore through the flooring.

Standing he swung his blade wide, Barbyos leaned back in time to avoid it before swinging his axe, tearing into the deck as Zihark jumped back. “Now!” Charging in, Zihark ran the bandit through.

Barbyos laughed as he grabbed Zihark’s head with his hands and threw the man into the air. Zihark cursed as he felt a hand close around his foot. Laughing Barbyos swung him into the ground, breaking the deck and causing Zihark to feel every bit of the impact through his spine and back.

Pulling his foot out of the deck Barbyos dragged Zihark to him and threw him back against the cabin. Gripping the Killing Edge, he tore it out and threw it aside before retrieving his axe and laughing “You still have some fight in you…to do this with your weaker arm after I thoroughly defeated you the first time…impressive.”

Zihark stood slowly as Barbyos spun his axe “Well?”

 _“I can’t keep up…”_ Zihark could feel how worn out his body was becoming. Reaching into his pocket he turned to face Barbyos with a Fire Bomb. The crew began panicking “I throw this…we all die…”

Barbyos smiled “Oh?”

* * *

_Thyremog Palace_

Taking another strike to the chest, Oogram leaned back. Growling he swung his blade again, clipping Neteau’s leg as he leapt back “I won’t be out smarted by an old man!”

Swinging his blade again, Neteau avoided the strikes with ease, taking every opportunity to strike the man’s arms with the flat of his lance, effectively slowing his swings down even more.

Finally he knocked the oncoming blade away and slice through the man’s arm. Grabbing the sword with his other arm, Oogram continued the assault.

“You realize you will die here?”

“No I won’t!” Picking up his blade he moved forward only for Neteau to run him through with his spear. As Oogram dropped the sword he gripped the spear’s shaft.

Neteau stepped away “All your betrayals…for nothing…”

Pulling the spear out, Oogram struggled to stand. Raising the spear “Die!”

Throwing it, Neteau noted as it flew right over him, panic settled causing him to turn and yell “Lytros!”

The King saw it coming but someone else acted far quicker. Stepping in front of his King, Yatno allowed the spear to impale him.

“Yatno!” The psychic fell over as Neteau turned back to Oogram picking up the discarded blade and slicing the man’s head off.

Rolf, Gatrie, Titania, Edal and the reinforcements of Ranulf and Oscar managed to clear out the rest of throne room. The young sniper noted the fallen psychic “Still serving his King...”

Gatrie crossed his arms “Never should’ve doubted him…”

Neteau approached them sighing “The rest of the palace?”

Oscar looked to Ranulf and nodded “We’ll take a look but we’re pretty sure it’s clear.”

“Sir.”

Neteau shook his head “Its fine Edal…conflict and death come hand in hand…”

Titania looked in the direction Ike left “This isn’t over yet.”

* * *

_Gull Tor Outskirts_

“Stop right there!”

Uhnie threw several knives, one striking Jilger’s leg. As the man stumbled he turned “You!”

“Me?”

Hilt smirked “We knew about you as well.”

Yass and Horats looked to her “What do we do?”

Get appeared “Hey! Aren’t we leaving?”

Uhnie shook her head “None of you are leaving!”

Charging forward, she barely made out Hilt kicking Yass and Horats to the ground and dropping several Fire Bombs before retreating with Get and the limping Jilger.

She saw the Bombs drop in slow motion and flash, before she could redirect away from them, someone grabbed her and they fell to the dirt as the explosions rang out around them.

“You really shouldn’t take off on your own.” A voice said before coughing, there was dirt everywhere. Waving his hand in front of her face he spoke “Yo? You there?”

Blinking she nodded “Shinon?”

“Yeah, the dashing hero…so, how bout a kiss?”

Laughing she stood “No time for jokes.”

“Hey, you laughed and it wasn’t a joke.”

“Jilger, Get and Hilt are still out there, can we focus on that?” Dusting herself off she noticed Ike run past the two of them.

“Well he’s quick…come on!” With that she continued her pursuit, shaking his head Shinon followed.

“No kiss. No thanks. What is your deal?”

* * *

_At Sea_

Zihark sighed “So? Any last words?”

Barbyos charged at him as Zihark dropped the Bomb. With his full force he slammed into Zihark, pushing the man against the wall, grabbing the bomb out of midair and throwing it over board just as it exploded, knocking the ship off balance.

Barbyos grabbed Zihark’s left arm and snapped it, causing the man to cry out and fall to his knees, his limp arm at his side.

“Once again…that was impressive I really didn’t think you’d kill yourself.”

Zihark glared at him as he raised his axe “Now you die.”

At that moment, Zihark smirked, Soren and Mia landed behind Barbyos. Falling to the side, Zihark gave Soren the room to summon a gale and strike the bandit as Mia shot out and cut down the soldiers still standing by.

Rushing to his side, Soren took out his staff and focused on his wounded arm before looking to the broken one “Z…you’re a fool.”

“I know…I just really wanted another go at him.”

Focusing on the power within, Soren put a hand on Zihark’s arm, feeling the bones fix themselves. “This time…we do it right…”

Zihark stood, testing his once broken arm “How did you-“

Barbyos tackled Zihark at that point, summoning another gale, Soren pushed him back to Mia who impaled him from behind. Cursing he swung about, she ducked away, her sword still in him.

Zihark rushed in, pulling the Wo Dao out and swinging it to cut through him. Roaring Barbyos turned again and slammed his axe against Zihark’s blade.

Mia grabbed Zihark’s discarded Killing Edge “I guess we’re trading.”

“So you can’t beat me alone! Fool!”

Zihark smirked “That’s not what this was about…I did my best to wound you, slow you down and keep your attention so _they_ could destroy your fleet and _we_ could beat you.”

Barbyos growled turning to see dozens of burning husks as Zihark continued “Your axe will never fall to a blade right? Well how about two blades and magic?”

Breaking away, another gale buffeted him, blinding him as Mia dashed by him, cutting his side followed by Zihark stabbing him in the arm, splintering a bone.

Roaring and ignoring their attacks, Barbyos charged forward, slamming into Zihark, throwing the man against the railing. As it broke on impact, Zihark grabbed the edge of the ship to prevent himself from falling into the ocean.

Turning Barbyos noted Mia and rushed her, the woman easily leapt over him. Soren summoned another Arcwind gale and slammed it into Barbyos’ side throwing him over.

Skidding across the deck his eyes landed on Soren and he charged the sage. Starting to move, Soren felt something clench inside him, something painful. “Soren!” Mia called as Barbyos swung, missing as Soren threw himself to the ground.

Dashing over Mia slashed Barbyos across the back who turned and struck her along the face with his axe, turning her around before kicking her in the back and to the floor.

Springing onto the deck Zihark charged the evil man as Soren and Mia rolled away. Leaping his blade met the axe again “Die!” Barbyos screamed bringing his knee into Zihark’s stomach again.

Reeling back the bandit punched Zihark in the face, breaking his nose and flooring him.

Commanding a series of sharp gales Soren directed them at Barbyos’ weapon arm, as they passed over it, deep cuts formed. Winding back he threw his axe at Soren who dove aside. Seeing this Barbyos charged forward and kicked Soren in the chest as he landed, tossing him back several feet.

Mia tried to get him from behind again but he grabbed her hands, swinging her blade into the deck and sticking it there before retrieving his axe. Pulling her weapon out, Mia barely blocked a blow though it resulted in her blade getting torn from her hands. Relying on her agility she flipped across the deck away from the wicked axe’s range.

“You are all bugs compared to me!”

Zihark stood and spat blood “Then you are going to fall to bugs.”

Barbyos leapt towards Zihark, crashing into the deck, splintering it as the Trueblade shot into the air. Coming down he buried his blade as far as it could go into Barbyos’ shoulder.

Seeing red, Barbyos roared, striking Zihark in the face with his axe, causing the man’s head to snap back. As the Trueblade reeled in pain Barbyos tackled him to the ground and proceeded to brutally beat Zihark’s face in with his bare hands.

Mia picked up a stray blade and ran back towards the bandit, sinking the blade into his back “Let Zihark go!”Stopping his assault he grabbed her face, pulling out a short sword he stabbed her a few times before throwing her body away.

“Mia!” Soren yelled as she hit the deck he felt the force in his stomach renew with unbridled rage, a burning so intense flooded his whole body as he held his hand out towards the bandit leader. A black ball of flames formed and shot across the deck into Barbyos arm.

_“What is this…searing sensation…is this…pain?”_

Looking at the black flames spreading across his arm, Barbyos screamed in pain and fury for the first time ever and fell back.

* * *

_Thyremog Shore_

“Finally.” Jilger stated. “Now-“

Springing out of the trees, Ike tackled Hilt to the ground before swinging Ragnell, an energy wave struck Jilger and Get, flooring them.

Uhnie leapt over Ike and Hilt landing on Get “I’m not done with you yet!”

The bandit tried to strike but missed as she leapt aside “Where’s your weapon?”

Cracking his knuckles he charged her “I’m going to rip you apart with my bare hands!”

Standing Hilt cursed “Killing me won’t stop this…the fleet is already out there…you’ll never catch up to them…”

“You all only cared for yourselves…betraying each other at every turn…nothing you formed was going to last.” Ike stated aiming Ragnell at the one armed man.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.

Ike gestured behind them “I don’t?” Hilt spotted Jilger climbing the rigging, the last ship, his ship was pulling away.

“No!” Roaring he pulled his blade out and swung at Ike.

Meanwhile, Uhnie kicked off Get “Not running this time? I’m impressed!”

“Not until I tear you limb for limb!”

Charging her he gripped her arm, she responded by sinking a knife into it, refusing to let go he swung her about and threw her. Righting herself in midair she landed and charged forward again, leaping over him “Shinon!”

An arrow shot in, splintering the bandit’s left kneecap. Screaming he gripped his leg.

“You bitch!”

Landing she turned “What? Did you think this would be fair? Last I checked the ambush was totally unfair!”

Ignoring the searing pain he tried to charge her. Meeting him halfway she jammed two knives into his chest as another arrow shot into his other knee from behind.

Falling to the ground he spat “I’m not…dying here…”

Picking him up she caressed his head “Aww…of course you are…”

With that she twisted his head, as quick as his screams came they were silenced by a loud snap.

Head limping first, Uhnie released the body, allowing it to fall.

Shinon approached “You get very personal with those you kill…”

“Indeed. What do you think?”

“What did I say last time?”

“Hot?”

He smirked “Still applies.”

Near them, Ike deflected Hilt’s blade “Is this how you fight? Pushing me away? Have you no killer instinct!”

“I’m not trying to kill you! As twisted as you are, you have to face what you’ve done!”

“Never!”

* * *

_At Sea_

Barbyos laid on the deck, his right arm completely burned away, revealing horribly burned muscle and bone, every so often a drop of blood would join the puddle forming below him. “Pain…” he muttered through bloody lips. Zihark stood slowly, his entire face felt broken, spitting blood he moved over to Barbyos.

“Geez…Soren how did-“

The sage ignored him, kneeling next to Mia “I’m sorry about this.” He pulled the blade out, flinching as Mia cried out. Focusing on his hand he put it to her wounds. After a few seconds he pulled away “Are you alright?”

One hand gripped his arm, a smile formed on her face “Yeah…Soren…thank you. I-“

She stopped, seeing a genuine smile form on Soren’s face “I’m so glad you’re alright.”

At that moment Zihark called for them, sounding rather alarmed.

Looking up Soren saw their ship was about to collide with another at shore.

“Let’s-“

At that moment the feeling inside him faded away and was replaced by intense pain, stronger than any pain he’d felt before. Hunching over he fell to his hands and threw up blood all over the deck. “Soren!” Mia screamed.

He tried to regain himself only to fall over, limp.

Standing Mia shook her head “No, no, no! Soren!”

Before she could pick him up Zihark grabbed him “I’ll do it, we have to go! Now!”

Mia looked to him but she seemed lost “Mia! NOW!”

Nodding slowly she slapped herself and nodded again “Right! Right…”

She and Zihark cast one last look to the one armed Barbyos who muttered another low “Pain…”

The two jumped turned and ran for the railings, jumping into the ocean as the ship they left behind crashed into the other, both groaning and splintering.

* * *

On board his ship, Jilger tripped as a result of the crash “What now!?”

“Sir we-“

Before the Senator could say anything else the Fire Bombs ignited, he couldn’t even scream as his body was charred black, melted down to bones then to ash.

* * *

Hilt stood weakly looking out to the sea, the burning husks of the last to ships sinking. In time with the sun, bringing the bloody day to an end.

Laughing he shook his head “Everything I planned…all of it…”

As he laughed, Ike narrowed his eyes “It’s all over. Turn yourself in.”

“Over? Over my-“

His swing was cut off by Ragnell plunging into his chest, splitting his black heart in two.

As the corpse fell, Ike nodded “I thought as much…”

Letting out a deep breath Ike looked over to Shinon and Uhnie, the latter crossing her arms "I guess we're done here."

"Maybe…from what Titania told me, Soren, Mia and Zihark went for Low Benet, I imagine to do that."

He gestured to the last two ships with Shinon narrowing his eyes, looking to the sea "Think they were on those?"

Casting glances to each other the three proceeded down the coast, before anyone could call out they saw Zihark and Mia emerge from the ocean with the former carrying Soren.

"Shinon, Uhnie-"

"Healers on it." With that the pair took off as Ike moved to join the others.

"Hey Ike." Zihark muttered, he felt drained swimming to shore with Soren but kept standing to support Soren.

"What happened?"

The Trueblade shrugged as Mia approached "We don't know but…he's hurt…bad."

Zihark gestured towards the Palace "Everything else?"

Ike sighed "Done. We won."


	15. Night Falls on Thyremog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle won, the Mercenaries regroup and relax...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With the previous chapter the Thyremog conflict is done. One thing I learned from writing is that just because the combat ends doesn't mean you should rush to the next point of combat, give the characters and yourself room to breath.  
> Seems obvious but the original New Emissaries clearly shows I didn't understand that.

**Chapter 14 - Night Falls on Thyremog**

_The State of Gull Tor_

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

Zihark nodded “Yeah Mist…totally.”

Mist took one last look “You said you felt your back and spine break…and you’re arm was broken…and you had a hole in your chest-“

“And a rip in my dominant arm, yeah. Soren healed me.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“You just healed Neteau!”

Mist shook her head “No…it makes no sense that there is no scar left over, no nothing. It’s like you weren’t hurt at all. You shouldn’t even be able to use your arm right now if what you said about it being broken a few hours ago was true!”

“I’m not lying about this to come off as macho, Mist. I had the ever loving shit, crap and tar beat the fuck out of me by a maniac.”

Mist sighed “I just…how did Soren do it…”

“What?”

Shaking her head she walked away “I’m going to check on Boyd.”

Standing Zihark shrugged his jacket on “Where’s Mia?”

“With Soren, she hasn’t left his side since he came in.”

Zihark nodded, he headed for Soren’s room but came to a halt, thinking of something else he changed his destination.

* * *

_Thyremog Palace_

Lytros stood before the covered corpses of all who fell in the last day.

“Abbard. Yatno.”

Closing his eyes he sighed “You know how much the country lost?”

Ike shook his head “Not exactly.”

“Gull Tor, Gren Haus and Low Benet have no military. No captains with Abbard, Oogram and Tol dead, granted the latter two were traitorous trash. Gren Haus has no leadership, a crumbling populace. Sil Tem’s military is almost nonexistent and they have no captain. The Crown is nearly bankrupt, we have very few ships and haven’t been able to put together a good crop to sell to anyone looking for it…”

Smirking he turned to Ike “Like all the bodies out there…this country is dead in the water.”

Ike nodded “That is all true…which leads me to this. What are you going to do about it?”

Lytros shook his head as Ike continued “You are the King. This is your land and you care for it, you won’t let it be dead in the water. You are going to fight to bring it back to prosperity and you are going to succeed.”

“Alone?”

“Alone!?” The pair turned as Neteau, Edal, Exet and Maz entered the room with the Head Commander speaking “My King, you are not alone and you never will be. Beyond us are the mayors who believe in you and the people who love you.”

Lytros looked at the men with Maz speaking “It’ll be just like with your dad, we reunite the States.”

“We find out what didn’t work and what excels.” Exet added.

“And we rebuild Thyremog, stronger than ever.” Neteau finished.

Lytros closed his eyes and nodded before looking to Ike “This is only the beginning…we’re going to have a lot of work ahead of us.”

Ike crossed his arms “I think I know someone who will gladly help your cause.”

* * *

_The State of Gull Tor_

Mia had her checkup from Mist as soon as possible. The younger girl was shocked at the condition of Mia’s back, burned so badly yet her patient was rushing her to heal her. Since then she has been at Soren’s side. What happened? Why was he like this?

Still holding one of his hands she sighed “Soren…I need you to wake up. I have so much I need to tell you. So many things about me…and I have so much more to ask about you…you promised to listen to what I had to say back in Gren Haus and I’m holding you to it.”

Smiling she whispered “And I…I have to tell you…how I feel…”

She sniffed, feeling the tears fall. _“He’s alive…stop crying…this isn’t a funeral it won’t be.”_

“Mia.”

The woman looked to see Zihark “I know you aren’t sick but…I never did get around to learning your favorite foods and…”

He trailed off as he set the bowl of soup near her causing her to laugh despite the situation “Thank you Zihark.”

Not hearing her, he kept his focus on her face, the tears staining her cheeks, her red eyes. She’d been crying for a while and then he noted her hands holding onto Soren.

He shook his head “Oh my Goddess…you…you’re in love with him.”

Mia looked down, sniffing as Zihark sat next to her “All of a sudden, it all makes sense.”

“I’ve…I haven’t even said it out loud yet…it sounds so…”

“Foreign?”

Laughing Mia used one hand to slap him playfully “Stop making me laugh, I’m not in the mood.”

“I know, which is why I’m making you laugh, Mia.”

Mia sighed “It’s…weird isn’t it?”

“What?”

She gestured to Soren “This?”

Zihark smiled “A woman falling in love with a man? No. Not weird at all.”

All attempts broken, Mia started crying. The Daein Trueblade moved forward and embraced her. Holding her until her sobs ceased.

* * *

Crossing her arms, Uhnie leaned against the wall as Ike approached “Spoke with the King?”

“Yeah…I have a good feeling about where Thyremog is going after all this.”

“And you?”

“Hm?”

“Good deed done. Justice was served. I take it you aren’t sticking around to help with the reconstruction.”

Ike laughed “It looks like that doesn’t it? No, we won’t be staying much longer.”

Uhnie smiled “Hey this country broke but it’s not yours to fix. We have to do _something_ for ourselves, right?”

“Indeed.”

As he tried to walk away Uhnie gripped his arm. He turned to her, seeing an unfamiliar look in her eyes.

“Volke.”

“Volke?”

“The Fireman?”

Ike turned to her fully “I never called him that.”

She nodded “I know.”

Ike wasn’t sure what he felt now “Who are you?”

Taking off her mask, Ike noted a scar along her red lips and another below her right eye “When people want to hire me, Lytros included. They go to taverns and call for the Mistress of Fire.”

“Are you…”

“I was a street rat, no family, no nothing…I cheated and stole to get by. One day I stole from a dark shadow of a man I never saw before and I made my job to remember the faces of all I stole from. Never steal from the same source twice. But I never saw this man in Thyremog before. Everywhere the wind took me…and he wasn’t just another hapless passerby. As I walked away…”

* * *

_“Just going to steal from me without introducing yourself.” A muffled voice came from behind the young thief._

_Facing the back of the man, she raised an eyebrow “What?”_

_Turning the shade kept his eyes on her “My money?”_

_“I didn’t steal anything from you.”_

_Moving closer he kneeled down to be eye level “You did.”_

_She noted his dark eyes, brown hair and a mask over his mouth._

_Oddly enough she wasn’t scared. This was the first time someone confronted her, most people didn’t realize something was taken or just shouted at the sky after the fact. He knew. He was looking right at her._

_“If you think I’m going to give it back-“_

_“I don’t want it back, I could make three times that in a few days…I’m good.”_

_She swore the man was laughing ever so slightly. He then focused on her confused expression and decided to elaborate._

_“See…no one has ever taken anything off my person until you.”_

_“…and?”_

_“Do you have anywhere to go? Anyone to meet?”_

_“…you know the answer already.”_

_“Indeed I do.”_

_Standing he started walking away._

_He didn’t say anything else, didn’t imply anything. But Uhnie knew. With no hesitation she followed._

_“Who are you?”_

_“The Fireman.”_

* * *

“Volke was here? Years ago?”

Uhnie nodded as Ike looked up, “How long…how old are you?”

Uhnie laughed at that “Really?”

Ike rolled his eyes “But…the way you described him, he looks just like that today.”

“Really? That’s impressive.”

“That’s impossible is what that is.”

Uhnie shrugged “Believe what you will. But Volke. The Fireman, he trained me from that day on, trained me to become the shadow of nothing. The sound of a windless breeze.”

Spinning one of her knives she smiled “He gave me purpose. Strength. My life would be nothing without him…and now I know where he is.”

Ike crossed his arms “Lytros is setting up a ship to go to Tellius for aid and trade. Are you going with them?”

Uhnie closed her eyes and shook her head “No…I wish but…I can’t see him yet. Not like this.”

“Why not?”

“I know this sounds like a copout but you really, really wouldn’t understand.”

Ike shrugged “I understand nothing about Volke…not at all surprised you talk like him though all things considered…thank you for sharing this story, Uhnie.

“No prob…my room’s not too far from here if you want to share the rest of the night.”

Ike started to say something, only to sigh as Uhnie started laughing.

“Good night.”

As he walked away she called back “That wasn’t a joke, I was being serious.”

“Hey.”

Turning she noted Shinon “You know, I knew you were there the whole time.”

“Yet you kept talking.”

“Yeah.”

“…does the offer still stand?”

* * *

_State of Gull Tor_

After what felt like an endless silence, Soren shot up and started coughing frantically. Looking over he spotted a glass of water and downed it in one go.

Sighing he took several deep breaths trying to compose himself.

Looking around he noted he was in the same room that was provided for him in Gull Tor and it was pitch black outside.

How long was he out? Was the coup stopped? What happened?

Feeling something he looked to his right hand, seeing it being held. He then noted Mia sleeping rather uncomfortably but peacefully.

Before his mind could process anything he spoke “Mia.”

Slowly she opened her eyes, looking up to him.

Eyes locking, Soren could see all the emotions flood the woman before him.

Without a word she embraced him with all her might.

“I thought…”

Shaking her head she kept her arms around him “I’m so…so glad that you’re okay…”

Slowly but surely, Soren hugged her back and closed his eyes, hearing a light sob as she repeated the statement again.


	16. Onward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fully recovered with conflict behind them the Mercenaries set sail again...

**Chapter 15 - Onward**

_The State of Sil Tem_

“Here it is, we were just as careful with it as any other ship.” Exet stated as the Mercenaries ship pulled into port.

“Thank you Exet.” Ike stated as they shook hands.

“Thank you for all you’ve done, Ike…to think strangers like you exist in this world. We were truly blessed that you docked here.”

As Exet walked away, Edal approached alongside Titania “So after speaking with Titania we decided to send two ships out.”

Ike raised an eyebrow “I thought Lytros said-“

“They don’t have much but anything is a start to rebuilding relations with Hitenticul.” Titania stated “The head farmers and Neteau are going to Hitenticul and their ship will guide us there as well.”

Ike nodded “Alright that sounds good. So Edal, you are going to Tellius?”

He shook his head “The King is going himself.”

Ike smiled before thinking “Wait. Lytros is leaving Thyremog?”

“Yes.”

Edal turned and bowed as Lytros approached “Edal and Maz are going to meet with the mayors and other assorted civilian leaders and give them the floor to decide how to reform the country. Once I return I will put my people’s plans into action…but before that I think it best that a King make the journey to honor the Queen who…hopefully will aid us in our country wide restructuring.”

“Well, I can honestly say I didn’t see that coming.” Ike shook hands with the King again “But it sounds like a good idea.”

“Then you’ll love this!”

Shinon and Uhnie joined the group with the woman speaking “I’m joining your merry band.”

Ike and Titania looked to each other before looking back to Uhnie “What?”

“What? I’m serious!”

“Yeah but…why?” Ike asked.

Shinon raised his hand “I asked her to.”

“And you said yes because?” Titania beckoned.

“Because why not? There is no reason for me to hang here right now, the place is safe, reforming…boring. I want some adventure so c’mon.”

Ike looked to Titania who shrugged before facing the assassin “Alright then. Uhnie. Welcome to the Greil Mercenaries.”

“Lovely to be here.”

* * *

“You sure you’re alright? Water? Food?”

“Mia.” The woman fell silent “I’m fine. Thank you. Really, thank you for all your help these last few days but I swear to you. I’m fine.”

Mia nodded “Okay…okay…I just.”

“No need to explain Mia.”

Coming to a halt, Mia opened her mouth but words refused to form. Looking to her Soren raised an eyebrow “Mia?”

“Soren…how did…how did you heal Zihark? He was…he was dying…no healer could’ve saved him from that. How did you do it?”

Soren remained silent, he knew full well how he did it even if he didn’t completely understand it.

He saw the look in her eyes, she was begging him to let her know. To trust her.

_“Did you forget? You are the son of the Mad King!”_

Soren sighed “I…I can’t tell you, Mia…I can’t.”

She looked down “After all this…you don’t trust me?”

Approaching her he took one of her hands into his, her eyes found him as he spoke “I trust you with my life Mia. You have to know that.”

She nodded “I do.”

“This is…this is like what happened near Goldoa…it’s…it’s a lot, it’s a burden that I’m trying to grasp. Once I can I’ll…”

_“You are making a promise you can’t keep.”_

“Once I can truly understand who I am. What I am. I’ll tell you. I swear.”

Mia kept her eyes on him before nodding “Alright…thank you Soren. That means a lot to me…”

Soren smiled, the pair resumed walking towards the ship when Zihark joined them “Hey you two, how goes everything?”

“Fine.” Mia stated.

“Uhnie’s coming with.”

Soren looked to him “What?”

“Yeah, she totally joined the Greil Mercenaries and everything, got the nod from Ike and all that.”

Mia smiled “Well, the road ahead looks fun.”

Soren groaned “She’s got enough double entendres for the whole trip to Hitenticul.”

“Of that there is no doubt.” Zihark commented.

“Z.”

Looking to Soren the Trueblade gestured for him to continue.

“I’m sorry I doubted you…when we were out at sea, I thought you were just seeking pointless vengeance on Barbyos.”

Zihark shrugged it off “That’s alright…there was a bit of pride to it, but I felt that if Barbyos knew you guys were blowing up his ships he’d do something about you so…went with plan ‘keep his attention on the one armed moron’ it worked pretty damn well if I do say so myself.”

Soren nodded “Thank you.”

Zihark swallowed “Okay…this got weird…I’ll see you guys on the ship.” With that the Trueblade took off.

Soren looked to Mia who was laughing before throwing an arm around Soren.

Sighing he decided to go with it and allowed himself to smile.

* * *

“Ike.”

“King Lytros.”

“Before I go there is one thing that I wish to ask of you and your Mercenaries.”

Ike tilted his head “Hiring us again, you didn’t even pay us the first time...”

“I-“

Laughing Ike shook his head “Its fine, the accommodations and everything were well enough. You were saying?”

“I’m sure you heard about the smuggle?”

Ike nodded slowly “A bit…no one saw reason to elaborate. Given everything that went down here these last few days I know why but-“

“This event took place in Blu Run’s port. The country was on the brink of economic danger, we were doing alright but if we didn’t get help we’d be…well, where we are now. So we were sending ships to Hitenticul, there was extra security on these. If anything happened we’d have to close the routes and stop any future shipments. The largest detachment of bandits raided that day…Atz led the assault against them along with his protégé Exet. Neteau was dispatched to help them along when…Barbyos himself appeared.”

“I take it he didn’t partake in a lot of the raids?”

Lytros nodded “Hardly if ever…he let his men do it but every time he did show up he left many bodies and this time was no exception. Exet reported that Barbyos was followed closely by a few people with bags over their heads. He cut a path right across the dock and then retreated through it…he left the rest of his bandits to die but took off on his own.”

“He took those people to the ship.”

The King sighed “He did…before the attack we commanded the ship to leave as soon as but we’re fairly sure it wasn’t quick enough. Whoever those people smuggled out of Thyremog and wherever they came from was a secondary concern to us with all the political madness going on here…but no we’re well aware that we can’t ignore those people.”

Ike crossed his arms “You want us to find them and what?”

“I don’t know. But the one thing that worried me the most was after the ship left, Yatno slipped into a panic attack then a coma. When he awoke he said that he felt true terror. That something horrible had just occurred.”

Looking out to see, Ike narrowed his eyes “I understand…do you have anything for us to go on?”

Lytros smiled “Thank you Ike. And yes I do, the ship of course never returned given the danger here…but I know the names of those who left with it. The ship captain was Gahnzo and the crew head was Tohgum. They’re no doubt somewhere in Hitenticul right now, with any luck they’ll have something for you to go off on.”

Ike and Lytros shook hands with the former speaking “We’ll do something about this. With any luck Hitenticul isn’t going through a crisis right now, I’ve had enough politics and backstabs for quite a while.”

“We can only hope. Thank you again Ike and good luck.”

Bowing the King left to board his ship, walking for his own, Ike was joined by Neteau.

“You didn’t have to take on the mission.”

Ike laughed “I know…but did you really expect me to turn it down.”

“I suppose not.”

After a beat, Ike decided to move away from assignment talk “So you’ll be leading us to Hitenticul. Anything we should know?”

Neteau laughed “A lot, I’d rather speak in transit.”

“…you’ll be on our ship? The surprises just keep coming today.”

“The men manning the trade ship have been to Hitenticul before, they won’t stray and I refuse to let you walk into Hitenticul blind.”

Ike smiled “Well…thanks for that Neteau. Give me a primer?”

Neteau nodded “Very well…first off Hitenticul is made of three islands, the northern island Staer and the southern island Pohelle are the smaller ones with their own scattered peoples while the main island Centra is home to the governmental body: The Five Pieces.”

“The Five Pieces…interesting.”

Now aboard, Ike and Neteau turned to wave to the docks as the two ships headed for Hitenticul. Turning around Ike noted the third ship with Lytros waving at them, headed for his home.

* * *

“I’m serious about that magic and sword training, alright?”

Soren nodded to Mia “I know, I’ll be topside in a bit but I really doubt you and Zihark-“

“Just let us try, we’re letting you try blades out with little trouble.”

“I don’t really want to learn but…after being forced to watch you fight alone while I conserved my energy…I never want that to happen again.”

Mia’s smile vanished “Soren.”

“Anyway that I can stay at your side will be preferable. We are partners.”

Mia blushed fiercely “We are. See you soon Soren!”

The sage smiled as she walked away. Entering his room his smile faded away and he took a deep breath before reaching into his bag and retrieving _that_ stone.

_“Almedha.”_

After a few seconds of silence he decided that maybe they were too far. It was a longshot after all.

_“Soren?”_

“You can hear me?”

_“Yes…why are you…calling me? I thought-“_

“I have to speak with someone. Something happened with me I need to understand.”

_“Okay…who do you need to speak to?”_

“Can you get me in contact with Micaiah?”

* * *

  _Thyremog Arc End_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original Thyremog - 14 CH - 18,356 Words  
> REDUX Thyremog - 11 CH - 33,034 Words


	17. Instruction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hijinxs at sea as the Mercenaries draw closer to the Islands of Hitenticul...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hitenticul is gonna be nuts, trust me, on another side: in my youtube channel CondorK92 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLg5Y8ezwOAt0Qkhb5CreKA I have started my new Let's Play series on Sacred Stones, would love if you checked that out!

_The Hitenticul Arc_

**_Chapter 16 - Instruction_ **

It's been a few days since the departure from Thyremog, according to Neteau Hitenticul was at least a day and a half away. Several of the Mercenaries were actually excited to see what this land was like and perhaps enjoy it a bit more than Thyremog.

Ike told everyone of the mission that Lytros entrusted to them but swore it wouldn’t take their attention away from seeing the Islands of Hitenticul.

“You know there is nothing to watch out for, right?”

Shinon smiled, putting an arm around Uhnie, the pair sat in the crow’s nest “I know, but this is the only place we can be private.”

The assassin laughed, shrugging his arm away “We?”

“I never give up the hunt.”

Uhnie rolled her eyes “You knew Volke, I’m as effective a killer and shadow as he is, if I wanted to run you’d never find me.”

“And yet you don’t, you enjoy my sarcastic, crass personality.”

The assassin looked out to the ocean “Maybe so but that all vanishes when it matters, last I checked _I_ was always on top.”

Now rolling his eyes, Shinon scoffed. “By the way, if you don’t mind me asking…”

“My scars?”

“Yeah.”

Shinon wasn’t really an emotional man, just rude and self-serving but he could not lie to himself as he looked on Uhnie, without the mask covering her, she was beyond beautiful, beyond anyone he’s ever met.

“You’re staring again.”

“Sue me.”

Looking down at the deck she smiled “Well, well. The show is about to start.”

* * *

“Line up! Clear out! Neteau!”

The older man turned “Oh! My apologies.”

Moving aside, Mia stood near where he was hands on her hips as Soren and Zihark stood before her, each holding a wooden sword.

“Alright! We’ve been doing basic forms since we left Thyremog I think now is the time for a little combat practice.”

Soren looked to Zihark “I don’t think this is fair.”

“Don’t worry Soren, we aren’t sparring, we’re just going to explain the best ways to hold your blade and when to swing it certain ways via demonstration. You’ll be hitting my blade, I’ll counter but not at full speed or strength. Once you see everything and understand it we’ll up the pace.”

Nodding to Zihark the sage looked back at Mia “You sure this will-“

“Soren. We believe in you.”

Looking from Mia’s smile to Zihark’s nodding he sighed “Alright. How do we start?”

“Face each other, Zihark hold your blade up vertically. When someone is coming at you with their blade ahead of them it’s very easy to block horizontal strikes if they have the grip.” Mia explained as Zihark called for Soren to come at him.

Swinging his blade from the left and right at Zihark’s the Daein Trueblade shifted slightly and pushed Soren’s blade as it connected, knocking it away.

“Of course as defensive as this is.” He explained while fending off more strikes from Soren “It is a long way from setting up a good attack I mean what can I do? This?” Taking a step forward, Zihark tapped Soren on the head “Not really effective eh?”

Soren raised an eyebrow “If that was tempered steel you could just as easily rip into someone’s head.”

“Yes but look how I’m standing, like a fencer. As fine as that looks it does not keep you alive in combat with real swordsmen, especially if they’re all around you. It’s better to keep your feet apart and shift your sword at angles so after you knock away a blow.”

Gesturing for him to, Soren moved forward and struck, Zihark bounced the training sword away and stepped forward with his blade still at its angle he swung it and feigned a slash across Soren.

“That…is a much more effective attack than a friendly tap on the forehead, even if the blade was tempered steel.”

Nodding Soren looked to Mia who smiled “Slashes and strikes are great against any opponent but when they are heavily armed you need to focus on the spots that aren’t. Heck I killed a guy during the Dawn War by sliding my blade through his visor and into his face.”

“Ew.” Zihark muttered as Mia stepped forward “Stabbing though puts all the force of your weapon in a forward motion. Goring opponents is a very effective way to drain their stamina. I’m stating the obvious but it really hurts and ripping the weapon out or twisting it while it’s still in or both are good ways to finish a fight. They may still live but it’ll take a lot to keep fighting. Though at that point they are open to any number of finishing moves.”

Soren remembered seeing Mia stabbed and just nodded, taking position across form Soren with Zihark walking away she smiled “So? Do you want to be the stabber or the stabee?”

“Stabee.”

Mia chuckled “Say it again.”

“No.”

“Alright then.” Spinning her trainer she pulled her arm back, holding it horizontally, pointing at Soren. Taking a step forward she struck her arm out, moving in the direction of the blade it shot forward, stopping near Soren.

“As efficient as stabbing is to draining an opponent’s stamina it’s very easy to avoid since we’re just going in straight like this, the whole length of the blade is vulnerable to being struck, hell if your confident enough you could stab someone trying to stab you.”

“So how would you stop it?” Soren asked.

“Aside from just…stepping to the side and countering you could hold your blade like this.” Mia held hers at an angle with her other palm on the end. “And swing it like this, using the flat of it to knock the stab aside, you might even cause your opponent to stumble, very key.”

“What if you cut yourself?”

Mia and Zihark answered at the same time “You will.”

Mia continued “A few times but that’s why we wear our gloves.”

“We’re getting closer to full on sparring, that’s gonna be the best!” Zihark stated, Mia nodded but Soren looked away.

“Alright Soren, your turn. Try to stab me.”

Looking back to Mia he swallowed. Zihark, standing nearby lost the smile on his face. He asked to do a lot of the practice with Soren in place of Mia doing the talking and explaining specifically to avoid something like this.

Soren looked to his blade as she spoke “Come on, like I showed you so I can demonstrate how to block it better.”

Soren began to speak as Zihark dived in “Think fast!”

Jutting his blade towards Mia, who shifted her foot slightly and knocked it away just as she explained.

“Really Z?”

Laughing he sighed “You are never open.”

“Duh.”

“By the way Soren, I finished reading that book.”

Soren looked to Zihark as Mia snapped her fingers “I did too! Oh! Let’s continue with that!”

Soren sighed as the two ran off, returning shortly with their arcane texts. Mia’s was for fire while Zihark carried one for thunder.

“You read them. Did you understand them?”

Zihark and Mia looked to each other then back to Soren “Yes.” “No.”

They looked to each other again then back at their teach “A little.” “Not at all.”

Soren sighed “It’s alright, it’s a lot to take in, honestly I’m surprised you read the entire thing.”

“What can we say? We’re determined.” Mia said with a smile.

“Alright well…what the first sections of the book do is explain the origins of their magic. You have to understand the source from nature to grasp the magic’s power. So for you Mia, candles, lanterns, lights…all the way to stars…the sun.”

She nodded as he turned to Zihark “And for you…clouds, rain, thunder, lightning.”

“Rad.”

Soren rolled his eyes “You need to think of these things as you inscribe the glyphs around you to summon the natural powers as your own.”

As they nodded he took out his own copies of their texts “Any questions on what you read?”

As the students began raising their hands, Titania emerged “Well, they’re still at it. Sling any fireballs?”

Ike laughed “Nope. This is not day one.”

Zihark and Mia’s first attempt was to see if they were prodigies, Mia almost burned the ship and Zihark damaged the crow’s nest. Shinon was rightly pissed.

The sun high above them, the questions would continue a bit, despite everything Soren was not surprised. Mia and Zihark had no formal magic training, this would take a lot to grasp but they had patience and determination to prove him wrong.

* * *

_Below Deck – Dinner_

“So they don’t have a King.”

“Nope.”

“But they have someone who goes by King?”

“Yes.”

“Living in a castle?”

“Stronghold.”

Ike sighed “Does anyone get confused?”

“The Five Pieces is a system that’s been in play for Hitenticul for generations. The people understand and we came to understand during our trading with them.”

“Alright…so the King is Yuuten, the Rook is Lyger and they are brothers.”

“Yes the Heitnaro brothers, famed for their combat prowess and strategic genius. One is fast and battles with finesse while the other is a one man storm.”

“They sound like quite the warrior Kings.”

Neteau smiled “Indeed they do but without the guidance of the Queen, the Bishop and their trusted Knight, they’d get nowhere.”

“Can’t wait to meet them.” The pair turned to Titania who sat next to them followed by Ranulf with the Laguz asking “Where will we be docking?”

“Usvale. It’s a quaint little town on the shore, closer to the capital, Unitt than where we usually dock.”

Ike closed his eyes “Which would be Wisin right? The big port center?”

Neteau nodded “Indeed.”

Titania sighed “Though Wisin would be where Gahnzo’s ship docked right?”

“Yes that would be it.” Neteau answered “Don’t worry too much about the mission, the last thing my King wanted was for that to sidetrack you.”

Ike shrugged “If anything we’ll split up. If Thyremog was any indication we work very well that way.”

“We have a partner system for a reason.” Ranulf commented.

“Though hopefully this time you don’t keep sending me away, Ike.” Titania stated with a warning tone.

Ike scratched the back of his head “I know I just…you’re the 2nd in command.”

“Soren or Oscar are perfectly capable of leading another squad.”

Ike nodded to Titania “You’re right, I’m sorry.”

The red haired knight smiled at that “Indeed I am and you’re forgiven.”

* * *

_“Soren.”_

“Micaiah…find anything?”

_“Well…not as much as you’d think.”_

“I was hoping the Daein or Begnion archives would have something but maybe-“

_“Soren. The Laguz countries denied the existence of the Branded. The Parentless. They’d never keep anything regarding them.”_

“I suppose…”

_“I just…I still can’t believe that you can heal just like I can.”_

Soren looked to his other hand before looking back to the stone he gripped “Though I forgot that it causes pain…I almost killed myself overusing it.”

_“I’m glad you didn’t…I’m sorry, I should’ve explained that part more.”_

Soren chuckled “How could you have possibly known this was going to happen?”

_“Maybe I would’ve if you told me you were a Dragon Branded sooner…though given what you did say I can see why that would’ve been hard if not impossible.”_

After getting in contact with Micaiah he let her know about his lineage, he needed her to know everything to help him understand his new powers. Powers beyond even her comprehension.

“So what did you find?”

_“Reports of a man that could apparently heal the worst sicknesses most clerics and priests could not. Many saw it as a gift but a group of demented people thought he was acting against the Goddess by saving those who would die so he was murdered.”_

Soren cursed “Every Branded story ends the same…killed or driven to suicide…”

_“…we’re still here.”_

Soren nodded “Right, I’m sorry.”

_“It’s okay…honestly not much else here, we can assume these reports were not exaggerated and this miracle healer was a Branded like us but there just isn’t enough for it to be definitive…I’m actually not in Daein right now.”_

“What? Then…where are you now?”

_“Looking for a friend, someone who might be able to help us. I will say this about you and your powers Soren. The healing, the black fire…it like many things is not an inherently bad thing. I learned to control my powers and they don’t hurt as much if at all compared to when I first used them.”_

“But you said you never coughed up blood or fell into a coma.”

_“Because I never shot flesh eating fire out of my hands. The damage done to you is representative of what you do…I don’t know why but it is.”_

Soren sighed as Micaiah’s voice came back _“By the way Soren. Almedha is still in Daein. Every time we talk she asks me how you are doing.”_

“…”

_“Soren, she is your mother and she is worried about you. You call her out of nowhere, hint that something is wrong but tell her nothing.”_

“Micaiah…you know that-“

_“That she wanted you? That she had no desire to send you away or use you as a trap? It was all Ashnard, Almedha never wanted any harm to befall you. You don’t have to start calling her mother or tell her everything but just talk to her, let her talk to you.”_

Soren knew that Micaiah was right, releasing a heavy sigh he nodded, mostly to himself. “Alright…when you get back to Daein, let me know…and Micaiah, thank you for helping me.”

_“Why wouldn’t I?”_

“I can think of many reasons.”

He heard her laughter before she spoke again _“You are far, far too pessimistic Soren. Chin up. You have friends who trust you, believe in you. Everything will work out.”_

Putting the stone away he sighed, he wished he was in Tellius right now tearing through books himself. No offense to Micaiah but when there was something he _had_ to research _he_ had to be the one to do it. What if she missed something?

_“No! Don’t blame her. She’s trying her best.”_

“Soren?”

Opening his door he looked to Mia “Yeah?”

She tried to speak but failed, Soren felt like the two had flipped roles. “Mia. Don’t force yourself.”

“I know I just…I’ve never told anyone about this…I want to tell you…I trust you enough to tell you…I’m just-“

“Scared it’ll change how I see you?”

Mia looked up at him and nodded. “Mia. You and I are friends, combat partners and now students and teachers to one another.”

Mia chuckled at that as he continued “And you earned my trust long ago.”

Breathing in deep the Trueblade nodded “Maybe I just need a more stable locale. When we reach Hitenticul…”

Soren nodded “Very well.”

* * *

_Port Town Usvale_

“Hey, are you sure you don’t want another?” A store owner asked holding out a fruit.

“No thank you, I’ll be fine with this.”

“Are you absolutely-“

“Yes I am, c’mon man!”

Chuckling the store clerk nodded “Alright Leah. Get home to your parents.”

“I’m not the same kid who stole from you, I’d appreciate if you stopped wording it that way.”

At the man’s shrug, Leah sighed “See you later then.”

Walking down the street he began throwing his orange into the air and catching it while whistling.

The man wore armored vest, covering it with a long orange robe with yellow trimmings. The robe met the belt tied around his waist before billowing out into a cape along the back of his legs, with the uneven end crossing in front of his right leg.

The flaring out of the cape revealed his red pants and brown shoes with an orange design down the middle. He wore brown bracers around his elbows and had a loop in his belt for a scabbard, though any weapon was absent from his visage.

His head was topped with quite a lot of orange hair, reaching high and spiked, hearing a bell his blue eyes looked to the sky.

Raising an eyebrow he ran the patterns of the bells through his head before landing on “Ship? Foreign ship?”

Sure enough a lot of people began running for the docks. The last ship that came in from anywhere else was the one from Thyremog seven months ago.

Moving faster he headed for his home.

* * *

_At Sea_

“And there it is...Hitenticul.” Neteau stated.

The mercenaries were looking out to the horizon, sure enough they were approaching land.

Zihark smirked “Who knows what we’ll find here.”

“Hopefully not another squad of economic terrorists.” Soren muttered.

Mia shook her head “C’mon those have to be one in a dozen, we can’t be that unlucky.”

Soren nodded “I suppose. Though that doesn’t rule out anything worse.”

Zihark sighed “Seriously? Already throwing around ‘worse’? We should be hoping for the best here Soren.”

The sage looked to Zihark “Maybe so but we can’t deny-“

“Nope! Not listening to pessimism! Mia!”

“Soren!”

“Fine!”

The two Trueblades chuckled as Soren crossed his arms and looked out to Hitenticul which was drawing ever closer.

The ship in front of them was already preparing to pull into the Usvale Dock.

Mia was right when she told Soren he frustrated himself back in Thyremog trying to get a grasp on how that country worked in the short time they were there. That in addition to what he learned of himself before they even left Tellius.

It was conflicts within conflicts he really didn’t need it.

But now he had Micaiah helping him with his powers, knowledge of a new foreign land and close, important friends in Mia, Zihark and by extension the rest of the Mercenaries.

Maybe Zihark was right. Maybe now was the time to be anything but pessimistic.


	18. Welcome to Hitenticul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On a new land the Mercenaries determine what they will do while Soren, Mia and Zihark meet a local.

**Chapter 17 – Welcome to Hitenticul**

_Port Town Usvale_

“Ships?”

“Yeah mom, ships, I heard some people say that the flag is of Thyremog.”

Leah put the groceries away and turned to his mom “Can you believe it?”

“Honestly…I can’t…it’s been…seven months right? I was so certain they’d forgotten about this place or…something.”

“You going out to see what they brought?” his father asked as he descended the stairs.

Leah gestured to the kitchen “Just put everything away, probably won’t buy anything else but hey, this is a good thing right?”

“Indeed. Now if only Nihil would come and visit, it’s been too long.”

At his mother’s words, Leah felt himself deflate while muttering a halfhearted “Yeah.”

“I mean I understand it’s his life but not one visit in years? Just the occasional letter? We raised him better than that.”

Leah’s father sighed “Yes dear, we know…Leah, you sent him a letter two days ago right? Asking him to come back?”

“Y-yeah…and the week before that and before that…”

“Any responses?”

Leah shook his head as his father sighed “Well, foreigners made it back to Hitenticul before our eldest son saw fit to even visit. That’s hilarious in a sad way. Do we at least know if he’s in Wisin?”

Leah scratched his head “The last letter did mention Wisin…”

His mother snapped her fingers and stood “No doubt the ship brought some soldiers along, you could always ask for help.”

“I don’t want to impose…”

“Leah, Thyremog has always been about maintaining relations with us, at least before they stopped coming.”

“Yeah but it’s a really small issue…y’know for them at least.”

His father nodded “He’s right Aer. Though maybe they will be heading down to Wisin sometime? Ask them if they are and hop on a ride with them.”

“Dad, I don’t want to leave you guys here all by yourselves.”

Sighing his father put a hand on his shoulder “We’ll be fine, you just stocked up the kitchen.”

“I don’t know…”

“Look, at least go take a look, you don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to.”

Leah nodded slowly “Alright…alright…I’ll be back soon.”

Leaving the home his father sighed and looked to his wife “He’s become even more timid as of late. Bring up Nihil and he just doesn’t want to talk. I thought he loved his brother.”

Aer shook her head “Maybe they fought?”

Laughing his dad crossed his arms “When? Nihil and Leah haven’t seen each other…none of us have seen Nihil since he left years ago.”

“Eyal…”

“There is something Leah knows about Nihil…something…but deep down I know he’ll never tell us what it is.”

* * *

_Usvale Docks_

“Sir, we will begin offloading everything from here. What of you?” A Thyremog sailor asked to which Neteau scratched his chin.

“Well since I am the highest ranking man here I have to head for the Centra Stronghold in Unitt, speak with the Five Pieces on behalf of Lytros.”

“We’ll wait for you-“

Neteau shook his head “Not necessary, trade with the people here, do everything we did once in the past and when you are ready. Head back to Thyremog, the funds and supplies we need will be essential. If you can convince some of the traders here to make the trip, that would help immensely.”

“Yes sir.”

With that the man walked away as Neteau turned to Ike “Well I have my own personal goal, what of you and the rest of your Mercenaries?”

Ike looked to the rest of the group as they stepped off the ship “I’ll see to that. Though can you wait for me before heading for Unitt?”

Neteau nodded “Of course.”

* * *

Whistling Uhnie looked around “The architecture is vastly different than Thyremog. I like it.”

“Really? Why?” Shinon asked as she pointed to the arched ends of some of the roofs.

“Excellent places to survey the area in the night, mark some people and take them out. I could probably get up there in a few seconds do my thing and be gone before anyone looked up.”

Shinon rolled his eyes “You admire architecture for how helpful it is in your assassinations?”

“I take note of everything for how it can be used. Everything.” She punctuated that with winking at Shinon before walking off.

“Uhnie.”

Turning she noted Soren “Yes?”

“We shouldn’t wander off yet.”

“Afraid I’ll get lost.”

Soren shook his head “There are many reasons but first and foremost you are a Greil Mercenary now-“

“So I should listen to you?”

She smiled “Alright then. Whatever you say Shorty.”

“Can everyone gather around?” Ike called.

* * *

Leah stood on the Dock looking at the men wearing the Thyremog sigil on their armor, they were indeed from that country. Whatever kept them away has no doubt been resolved.

Thinking back to what his parents asked of him, Leah was certain it’d do no good to ask. There were nowhere near as many troops from Thyremog as there usually where. He did not want to take any of their time with his…foolish question.

 _“I can’t leave…I can’t go see Nihil.”_ Sighing he was about to go back home when he noticed a rather large group of…strange people all gathering around a blue haired man.

He tilted his head as he watched them, they definitely did not look like Thyremog citizens and did one of them have…a tail?

* * *

“I’m going to be heading to Unitt with Neteau to meet the Five Pieces. We are Emissaries after all.”

“Aaaaaand?”

Ike looked to Titania, after a few second he nodded “…aaaand Titania is coming with me.”

She smiled at that as Ranulf spoke up “What about the rest of us? And that Gahnzo thing?”

Ike crossed his arms “Well, we will be on Hitenticul for quite a while because of that, however as Neteau said we shouldn’t live by it. So I think it’s fine if we all split up. Have a look around the place. I asked Neteau about getting maps for Centra, he’ll be back soon.”

“You don’t think anything bad is out there?” Mist asked.

Ike shook his head “No place is without its secrets and dark corners so no one is allowed to be alone, got it?”

Most of the group nodded as Neteau approached and handed Ike several rolled up parchments, no doubt maps.

“If any of you wish to come with us to Unitt, you will be most welcome.” The older man said before bowing.”

Shinon laughed as he took a map “This is like a field trip.”

“This whole thing has been like a field trip.” Gatrie stated.

“I don’t know what field trips you took but none of mine involved fighting a rebelling political faction.” Oscar called out with a smile.

Soren took his map and opened it, Mia and Zihark landing on his shoulders as soon as.

“Where we goin?” Mia asked.

“Yeah Soren! Where?” Zihark added.

“…Wisin.”

Zihark groaned “The mission?”

“Someone has to do it.”

“Yeah, but why not them?” The man from Daein gestured to the rest of the Mercenaries.

“What about this big center here? Heogettr? Or this town over here…or-“

Soren closed the map “Z. We’ve literally seen none of these places, Wisin will be as new an experience as anything.”

The man sighed “I suppose.”

“…is this fine with you Mia?”

He turned to the woman who smiled “Of course.”

“Then it’s settled.”

“Excuse me…”

The three turned to see a man in orange approach “I don’t mean to pry but I couldn’t help but overhear…are you all headed to…Wisin.”

The three looked to each other then back to him with Soren speaking “Yes. What about it?”

Scratching the back of his head the man held out a hand “I should introduce myself, I’m Leah.”

Soren looked at his hand for a few seconds before Mia pushed him, he looked to her and was about to say something when Zihark pushed him, a little too hard into Mia.

Zihark stepped past them and shook Leah’s hand “I’m Zihark, the grouchy one is Soren and the happy one is Mia.”

Leah nodded, as Soren pulled himself away from Mia who was blushing.

Looking to Leah she found her voice “So…why do you want to know if we’re going to Wisin?”

“I…ah…”

Falling silent the man scratched his head. Soren crossed his arms, before he could speak Zihark cut in “Look man, we aren’t bad people. We’re all odd that’s a given but you spoke to us for a reason right?”

“I…did…I’ve just…there is someone in Wisin. My brother, Nihil he left home…a long time ago and…”

“What makes you think we’ll help with this?” Soren stated, prompting another push from Mia.

“I don’t know I just…feel that you might…care at least…I’m sorry.”

Mia leaned in “Don’t be. And Soren, we are going to Wisin anyway.”

Soren sighed, bringing a hand to his forehead while Zihark chimed in with “She’s right.”

“There is some ulterior motive here right?”

At Soren’s claim Leah looked down “Somewhat…I’m sure you can tell I’m not the most…forward person…it’s just, before I could…stop myself the words came out.”

Soren wanted to say more but his analytical mind gave Leah the once over, if he meant any harm he was sure he alone could deal with him. Deciding to get it over with he agreed “Fine…I imagine you are coming with us right? It’d be easier to spot him if that were the case.”

Leah nodded “I just…need to tell my mom and dad…about all this. If you wouldn’t mind following me.”

The three shared a glance again as Soren spoke “Give us a second to tell our leader where we are going.”

Leah nodded “Of course.”

* * *

_“Well well…I knew I didn't imagine the sound of horns..."_

A man, concealed in a large black cloak sat on a roof looking out over Usvale’s Dock where two ships from Thyremog were stationed.

The end of his cloak came up as a massive collar around his face, revealing his fully blood red eyes with brighter pupils and the gray hair atop his head, with a large portion of it tied back in a tail that stood almost upright.

Looking over the dock he noted unfamiliar scents.

Narrowing his eyes he focused on a group of people talking amongst themselves at the dock.

One was definitely from Thyremog but the other twelve were not, in addition to their odd main scent they had individual unique scents.

_“These people are very foreign…a new land…and…what’s this?”_

Sniffing again he focused on one specific stranger _“What is…this?”_

The man gave off such an odd scent, the watcher noted that all the strangers were odd but among a group of oddities he stood out as an enigma.

Part of him wanted to drop down there and get personal with them, but he was no fool, he saw their weapons. The way they carried themselves. No this will have to wait.

At that moment the woman from Thyremog turned, her eyes landing right on him. Acting quickly he took to the skies, away from Usvale.

* * *

“Well, there is no one I trust more than you to handle the Wisin thing than you Soren.”

He smirked “Hey, give Mia and Zihark some credit.”

Ike nodded “Indeed. Well-“

“Uhnie!” The two turned to see Uhnie pulling Titania by the arm towards them. Throwing her hand around Soren and Titania she leaned in close, Ike leaning in as well.

 _“Something was watching us…”_ she whispered.

“What?”

Glaring at Ike the man nodded _“What?”_

_“On the roof two houses down, something was definitely watching us.”_

Her eyes moved to Soren _“But especially you.”_

Soren narrowed his eyes as Titania added her whispers _“Are you absolutely certain?”_

_“I was trained by Volke. I know when there are eyes on me…and as Soren said, I’m a mercenary now and whoever it was…they were looking at all of us, sizing us up.”_

Ike sighed _“We just got here.”_

Uhnie nodded _“I’m well aware. I don’t know what will come of this but you three especially have to know. Be ready. Just in case. Soren.”_

He looked to her, expecting the Uhnie he was used to, crass, loud but what he saw, her mouth set in a firm line, her eyes focused squarely on him, a foreign intensity within them.

This wasn’t a joke.

_“I’ll be careful. Truly. Thank you Uhnie.”_

They split up and she let out a deep breath before chuckling “Welcome to Hitenticul eh?”

“I’ll be with Mia, Zihark but I’ll be careful. Do what you were going to do Ike. Titania.”

The pair nodded as he looked to Uhnie “And thank you.”

Smiling, he saw her familiar form had returned “You can thank _me_ later.”

She winked at him, and instead of his usual frustration he rolled his eyes. Despite everything he was glad she was back to normal. A serious Uhnie was far more intense than he was prepared for.

Clapping her hands, her smile grew “Well, I’m off!”

With that she skipped away towards Shinon as Soren moved to join Mia and Zihark hearing Ike call his name prompted him to look back and say “I know. I’ll be fine.”

* * *

_Port Town Usvale_

“Leah? Back already and…oh…who are they?”

Soren, Mia and Zihark bowed to Aer as Leah scratched the back of his head “They are from…Tellius right?”

“Yep.” Zihark stated.

Aer tilted her head “Tellius? Not Thyremog?”

Mia shook her head “Nope, we did come from Thyremog, on the ship with them but we were all born in Tellius. It’s pretty far out from here but it’s a great place.”

“What’s all this?”

The group turned as Eyal joined them.

“Leah made some friends.”

At that Leah blushed “They’re not-“

Zihark threw an arm around Leah “Nah, that’s a good thing to call us. We’re totally friends!”

“We just met!”

“So, what are you all doing here?”

At Eyal’s question Soren spoke “We’re headed for Wisin for personal reasons. Leah asked us about it and if he could come along to find his brother.”

Mia walked over to a family picture “Is this a picture of him?”

Eyal nodded as Mia examined it with Leah correcting her “Photo.”

Mia raised her eyebrow at him “Photo?” Soren and Zihark joined her looking at the image.

In it where two children, clearly a very young Leah with his mother behind him on his left and father on the right. Next to Leah was another boy, his brother. A bit taller than Leah and dressed in light blue focused clothes in contrast to Leah’s orange, as well as having black hair, taking after their father as Leah took after his mother.

“Is this the…only…picture?”

At Mia’s question Aer sighed “No but he left a long time ago, all we have are childhood photos…that is the oldest he is 12 and Leah is 10.”

“Where did he go?” Zihark asked.

“At first he left for Wisin. He said he found a great paying job and wanted to help us along.”

“At twelve?” Soren whispered to himself, not quite sure if they were mistaken or if he was.

Leah looked at Soren, the look in his eyes was...fearful “He caught the eye of a fairly…important guy. He insisted he could help us out with the money from his job…took a bit but mom and dad let him go, he promised to visit.”

“Never did.” Eyal sighed.

Soren brought a hand to his chin, something wasn’t right.

Zihark clapped his hands “Well, we’ll get that all figured out in Wisin. Leah mentioned a carriage that could get us there in a few hours, should make it before nightfall.”

“Leah, do you have any arms?”

Leah nodded slowly “Why?”

Recalling what Uhnie told him, the sage shrugged “Just in case.”

“I’ll get your sword.”

As Eyal headed upstairs, Mia neared Leah “Sword?”

“Yeah, I learned when I was younger, had a teacher and everything.”

Zihark chuckeld “Uh oh…I think Mia found a new training partner.”

He looked at her then at Zihark and Soren “Should I be worried?”

They nodded in unison as Mia’s smile grew.

Returning his father handed him the sword in its sheath. “Well Leah. We wish you the best. I really hope you convince Nihil to visit at least once. It’s been far too long.”

He nodded “Of course. We have to make that carriage soon. Mom. Dad.”

Sharing a hug and a kiss as Soren, Mia and Zihark left the home he whispered “I love you."

* * *

Walking outside, Soren opened his map and began making mental notes of directions. Once Leah joined him he began asking him questions while Zihark put a hand on Mia’s shoulder.

“So…have you said anything?”

She sighed and shook her head “No Z…I haven’t.”

“Mia. You told me-“

“What I said was true…I want nothing more than to…tell him…but…”

Zihark pulled away “Do you think he’ll turn you away.”

“That’s the worst part, I really don’t know. I know he trusts me-“

“More than anyone else except for maybe Ike.”

“But there are things he won’t tell me…I don’t want to push him to tell me but something inside me…has me convinced those things are what keeps him distant when he tries to be close.”

Zihark sighed “After all these years, Soren is still quite the mystery. But if anyone can get through it all…you are definitely the one.”

“You think so?”

“Believe me. Once I realized what it was between you two I thought back to everything he has done in reference to you. Whether or not he admits it I can see that he has feelings for you.”

Mia smiled at that “I really hope your right Z…and thanks for being in my corner.”

Laughing he put an arm around her “Where else would I be?”

Soren turned to them and gestured ahead “We have a carriage ride that’s at least two hours long ahead, hope you are both ready.”

Zihark and Mia feigned a salute while chuckling.

Soren looked to Leah “This isn’t some kind of-“

“Trap? No I-I swear.”

Soren looked back, specifically at Mia “Alright then…let’s go.”


	19. Stories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "My Love" "My Past" "My Pain" "My Brother" "My Origin"  
> En rout to their destinations several characters share stories about themselves...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 14K. This chapter is no joke, the very format lent itself to being this long.  
> If the sixth story "My Failure" was not written out in favor of the plot going in a different direction it might have been even longer.

**Chapter 18 - Stories**

_Road to Unitt_

“I’m actually glad you decided to come along.” Ike stated to Mist who smiled at him “Well. When else am I going to enjoy some quality time with my brother?”

As she embraced him Ike looked over to Neteau, Titania and Ranulf “And them?”

“Eh…”

Ranulf laughed at that “Harsh.”

Neteau chuckled as well “Mist. Aren’t you married?”

Looking to the old soldier she nodded “Yep. Boyd’s with his brothers and Gatrie doing…something.”

Neteau smirked as his eyes moved to Ike “She beat you to it eh?”

Ike shrugged “Well apparently she and Boyd had a thing for each other for quite a while.”

“Ike is very unaware of these kinds of things. I’m actually glad Uhnie talks to him the way she does, maybe he’ll finally get it next time a woman decides to hit on him.”

At Titania’s prodding the rest of the carriage laughed, including Mist.

“Very funny.”

Titania was set to comment about him not noticing Soren’s behavior but decided against it. Soren was moving slow enough as it was, she’d leave it to Mia before anything else.

“So you are a Laguz correct?”

Ranulf nodded to Neteau “Yep, Ike mentioned us to you at some point I’m sure.”

“Yes as well as the geographical layout of Tellius. You however were the right hand to your King, are you certain you should be out here as opposed to at his side?”

Ranulf laughed “Speak for yourself.”

After a beat Neteau nodded “Indeed. Ranulf do you have any experience with the Branded?”

Ranulf’s smile vanished “Branded?”

“I told him about the Branded.”

The group looked to Ike who continued “As well as Hilt. I figured since we now know for certain there was never a valid reason to hate the Branded, other people should visit Tellius knowing that as well.”

“From what Ike told me, Laguz have a sense when they are near one, as they call the Parentless. Did you ever…?”

Ranulf crossed his arms “I don’t go actively looking for them like…other Laguz have. I never believed we have a sense until it just…hit me in the face.”

“You met one?” Nodding to the old man he sighed “He was a good guy, lived a simple enough life in Gallia. I didn’t see a reason to bug him but I struck up conversation anyway. He was raising money for his father who lived in a border town in Crimea. Good enough…visited him a few days until…”

Scratching his head the Laguz let out another heavy sigh “Until one day his stand was trashed…as was his home. Never saw him again after that.”

“That bad.” Neteau muttered.

“It’s sad. They did nothing…they were just born.” Mist stated.

Ike remained silent, he was all too familiar with what the Branded went through.

“I didn’t mean to bring the mood down.”

Neteau said to which Titania shook her head “It’s alright. You’ve heard of Tellius as it is now but it was anything but that in the past.”

The man smiled “I’d like to share a story with all of you.”

“What brought this on?”

Neteau chuckled “We’ll get to Unitt when we get there. Till then I think I can keep you entertained, I lived a rather tumultuous life when I was young, I was one of the people who went with Erektoss to Hitenticul the first time.”

“I’d love to hear this.” Titania stated.

As the group got comfortable, Neteau cleared his throat. “This was almost 30 years ago now that I think about it…well, as I’m sure you know Erektoss wanted his voyage to be sanctioned so he presented his case to the old Senators. They ran their states independently but he saw fit to bring them all together to present this idea. Despite their doubts they ultimately allowed it simply because Erektoss vowed everyone who went with him would be volunteers and he’d limit his crew to less than 30 so as to not risk Thyremog losing too much if the voyage was a failure…”

* * *

"My Love"

_“You are seriously going through with this?” Erektoss smiled to his friend, a eighteen year old Neteau, short black hair a top his head and wide, disbelieving blue eyes._

_“You’ll die out there! That’ll be a much more massive loss to Thyremog than any number of soldiers!”_

_Erektoss laughed at that “Do you truly believe that Neteau?”_

_“You better fucking believe I do! This land needs your brain! Your ideas! Not our weapons!”_

_“Maybe so. But I firmly believe there is more to life than Thyremog. There is something out there and I am going to use my life to prove it.”_

_Neteau shook his head “Fine then, I’m going with you.”_

_“Neteau, you are on track to becoming Head Guard for the Gull Tor Senator, that is-”_

_“Forget that shit, whatever is out there is no doubt better than sitting around here protecting some rich dude and how can I sleep well at night knowing you are out there in the wild with not a one efficient bodyguard.”_

_Erektoss sighed “Well then, you’re the first of my crew.”_

_The next few days were spent with Erektoss traveling through all the States, by the time he arrived at the Sil Tem port to see his ship, he had recruited 24 other people. Counting himself and Neteau the voyage to…wherever would be taken by 26 souls._

_Without pause the ship was filled and they casted off._

* * *

_The outer seas were rough, no one had experience on such rough waters and there were many times the crew swore the ship would capsize or snap in two but by some miracle it held together._

_A week had passed on for once, things were clear._

_“Erektoss. Neteau. One of the crew is…concerned…”_

_The two looked to each other with Neteau laughing “Now? Tell this guy that his ass is on the wrong ship in the wrong ocean and he should have realized that a week ago.”_

_“Well I would but…she is also concerned…for all of us.”_

_Erektoss laughed as Neteau scratched the back of his head “Nine women are on this voyage.”_

_“Right.”_

_“Go see what she needs.”_

_“Me?”_

_Seeing the look in Erektoss’ face, Neteau nodded “Alright, alright.”_

_Going under Neteau found the woman. Long blonde hair and wrapped in a green robe around her brown leather vest. Her blank eyes looked in his direction._

_“Blind?”_

_“Yes. You are Neteau correct?”_

_“…yeah?”_

_Standing she walked over to him “We’re in danger.”_

_“Of what?”_

_“Tell the captain to turn this ship forty-“_

_“Woah woah…if we alter the course-“_

_“If we don’t we’ll all be dead. Please.”_

_“Who are you?”_

_“Zaya.”_

_Neteau sighed “Alright. Alright. How much do you want us to alter?”_

* * *

_Approaching the captain, Neteau repeated what Zaya told him. He raised an eyebrow “Why?”_

_“She said we’d die if we didn’t.”_

_“What does a woman know?”_

_Neteau walked away, surely she was crazy, right?_

_Something bugged him as he kept moving and by the time he was topside and Erektoss was asking him what happened. The urge would not stop._

_“Neteau?”_

_As he prepared to open his mouth the man in the crow’s nest yelled “Storm! Dead ahead!”_

_Sure enough a large mass of dark clouds stretched out before them._

_Erektoss sighed “Get below decks, we’ll have to ride this out.”_

_Neteau crossed his arms recalling Zaya’s words_ “If we don’t we’ll all be dead.”

_“Shit. Erektoss!”_

_Taking the man by the arm he ran back to the captain._

_“What are you-“_

_Using his shield he bashed the captain, throwing him to the ground._

_“Neteau!”_

_“How do I turn this thing!”_

_“What are you-“_

_“We have to turn!”_

* * *

“A psychic.”

Neteau nodded to Ranulf “Yes. Just like Yatno and…Jilger…however as opposed to reading people’s thoughts and sensing people’s auras she was capable of feeling events from the far future.”

“Wow.”

Neteau nodded to Ike “However, she could only feel if the event coming was good or bad, she didn’t know what it was until it was closer. In fact, she is Yatno’s cousin.”

“His cousin?” Mist whispered before looking to Neteau.

He noted her eyes and nodded “Yes I didn’t come here just for you and to see the Five Pieces…she deserves to know.”

“She’s here?” Titania asked “In Unitt?”

Neteau smiled “Indeed she is…anyway…I turned the ship with Erektoss help, we still went through some of the storm, the rough waters were worse than I could have imagined. The ship took some damage but we made it out before anything serious…if I had been as stubborn as I believed myself to be. We would all have died there.”

“Why didn’t she tell you all she was a psychic when she boarded?”

At Ike’s question Neteau sighed “Yatno was a unique instance. Psychics were taken advantage of for the longest time in Thyremog. Kidnapped and used to plan robberies and the like. When the criminals had their money they killed them and went on with their lives. Being a public psychic in the old days was not the best situation…and then there is Jilger…I have no way of knowing if he was the first of his kind but it’s not impossible to imagine that people with such abilities would use them for personal gain or to bring harm.”

As Ike sat back, Neteau chuckled “See? Your country isn’t the only one with dirty history.”

* * *

_“I’m sorry, Zaya.”_

_“You tried.”_

_“Not enough. Thank you…how did you-“_

_“I’m a psychic…I came along with you all not because I wanted adventure or anything but because something told me if I didn’t…you’d all be in danger.”_

_Neteau smiled “Well thank you for that.”_

_“Don’t mention it.” She smiled back and Neteau returned topside._

_“Did you know we had a psychic with us?” He asked Erektoss who shook his head “If I did I would have pounded you silly for not taking her advice.”_

_“My apologies._

* * *

_A few days later Neteau was topside, headed for the crow’s nest when he noted something. Heading back into the ship he shook Erektoss awake “Sir! Sir!”_

_“Neteau, what is it?”_

_“Land!”_

_Surely enough they were approaching land, after a few adjustments they noted a dock and pulled in, the crew cheered most beyond shocked that there was indeed something in the wild._

_“Sir, what do we do.”_

_Erektoss smiled “Have groups of at least three men each move out or varied stock for sale and trade, let’s make an impression.”_

_“Yes, sir!”_

_The people of Wisin were just as surprised to meet people that came from across the ocean, from a land called Thyremog. There was such a commotion at the docks that the Governor of Wisin came to see what was about and when he heard of the people from a foreign land he had a message sent for closest member of Five Pieces: the Knight, Wyton._

_“Sir.”_

_Neteau gestured to the man in the lavish gold armor walking towards them._

_Erektoss approached him and bowed “Hello.”_

_“Who are you people?”_

_Hearing of their origin, Wyton removed his helmet and began stroking his beard. Erektoss gestured to their ship and supplies. The Knight was not the most economically savvy but even he could see the advantage to a relation with another land._

_“Come with me to see the ones who rule this land, the Five Pieces. They must know of this.”_

_Erektoss nodded as Neteau looked to Zaya._

_“Truly, thank you Zaya. Without you, who knows where we would be.”_

_“Dead.”_

_Neteau laughed “Indeed. Well I am going with Erektoss, will you be fine here?”_

_Zaya nodded “I may be blind but I can handle myself, thank you Neteau.”_

* * *

“From there we came to Unitt not unlike now and met the Five Pieces. The Bishop Tallnit was most excited about the prospect we presented. The King and Rook, the Heitnaro brothers were a little worried of an attack from our land but Erektoss and I assured them we had no interest in that…though Lyger wasn’t convinced since neither Erektoss or I were leaders of Thyremog but the Queen Miina convinced him to trust us.”

Titania crossed her arms “As far as you know are these the Pieces still in charge 30 years later?”

Neteau shrugged “Of that I’m not sure, Tallnit was at least in his 30s while Lyger, Yuuten and Miina were younger. Wyton on the other hand was as old then as I am now.”

“Which is? If you don’t mind me asking.” Ike stated a bit warily. Neteau just laughed it off and answered “Forty five.”

“Hard to believe you were such a foul mouthed man in your youth.” Ranulf said with a laugh.

“Indeed I was.” He said as he chuckled.

“So you fell in love with Zaya or?”

Looking at Mist, Neteau laughed, louder than ever before “No I didn’t…I was 17 at the time she was 31…maybe it could have worked but I didn’t feel for her that way.”

Ike raised an eyebrow “You said the story was called My Love.”

Neteau nodded “Yes. It was.”

“It was Erektoss.”

The group looked to Titania who smiled “Your love…was Erektoss.”

Neteau snapped his fingers and looked to Ike “How much do you pay her? Whatever it is it isn’t enough.”

Ike chuckled at that as the old soldier continued “I was fascinated, enamored by Erektoss. A man of such fiery passion and such belief I knew I could place my trust in him. Truthfully I really wanted that position…I only made light of it so he wouldn’t feel guilty. He was our dashing and triumphant leader and upon our return he became King.”

“And had a son.” Mist added.

Neteau nodded “Yes, he married. His wife Moira was beautiful and kind.”

“I take it no other man caught your eye?”

Neteau shrugged to Titania “I don’t suppose I’ve given them the chance to let me.” Chuckling a bit he looked to everyone “I expected…disgust or…something.”

Ike shook his head “Four women I fought alongside during the wars in Tellius. Two named Heather and Nephenee married and adopted a child and the other two Sigrun and Tanith married and serve their Empress to this day. They are all perfectly content and happy with their lives…it’s nothing odd.”

Neteau smiled “Brilliant.”

The carriage came to a stop, the group got out and looked onto Unitt, with Neteau pointing to the two massive towers in the distance surrounded by a massive wall. “Behind there is the mighty Centra Stronghold.”

The group stood around the old soldier as Ike looked to the sky “It’s getting pretty late. You sure we shouldn’t rest somewhere first? Meet them in the morning?”

Mist yawned “Yeah we did just get off a pretty long voyage.”

Neteau nodded “That makes sense…and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t even a bit tense at seeing them again. The last thing they’d do is throw us in a dungeon but still.”

Titania chuckled “Alright then, let’s go find an inn.”

The five moved into the town, tomorrow they’d meet the Five Pieces.

* * *

_Road to Wisin_

Sitting in their carriage, Soren, Mia, Zihark and Leah were pretty silent. Soren noted that Mia and Zihark were jotting down notes in their arcane texts. Leah looked at them oddly then at Soren.

“They’re studying magic.”

Leah fell silent, his question answered so quickly before gesturing to their blades “I thought-”

“They’re masters of the blade first…this was just an unfortunate bet.”

“He said we’d never master magic.” Mia stated, not taking her eyes from her book as Zihark added in “We are so proving him wrong.”

Leah chuckled “Wow…you guys are interesting.”

Soren nodded “We get that a lot…so…why is your brother out here again?”

Leah scratched the back of his head “Well…”

Zihark put a hand over Leah’s mouth “Soren! You can’t ask about someone else’s past without sharing your own first!”

“Since when is that a rule?” the sage countered.

Leah pushed Zihark’s hand away “Its fine Zihark, you are all helping me, it’s the least I can do…I haven’t exactly been open with all of you.”

Zihark and Mia closed their books as Soren nodded “Of that we were all certain.”

The Daein Trueblade sighed “I understand that but when I travel, that is always how I greet others, I share a story about myself and they feel prompted to do the same. You’re the new one here so…”

Leah shook his head “But how can you trust me with your past…if I’m not being transparent myself?”

Soren looked to Zihark who shrugged “Well we’re as much strangers to you as you are to us. Not to mention you seem really nervous, I think it’ll be more fit for us to open up to you, make you feel more comfortable.”

As Leah looked to Zihark, Mia elbowed the Daein “So what? Are you gonna share a story with us?”

Zihark looked up briefly and nodded “Of course, all of you have a listen and see Leah, just cause we’re strangers now doesn’t mean we have to keep it that way.”

Leah sat back with a small smile as Zihark began.

* * *

"My Past"

_As a boy Zihark wanted nothing more than to travel the world._

_See everything there was to see._

_The massive chapels in Begnion, the calm farming life in Crimea, the Laguz of Gallia…_

_He even imagined one day seeing a Goldoan Dragon as highly unlikely as his friends said that was._

_“They probably don’t even exist.” Many said._

_Zihark himself was far more unfamiliar with Laguz than he’d like to be but most of his young friends assured him that they were evil and only wanted to kill Beorc…at least according to their parent’s claims._

_Zihark’s mother did not believe that a race would exist just for violence but she also told her son that Laguz were slaves for many years._

_His father on the other hand didn’t really care for them, he could go his whole life without seeing one and be perfectly content._

_Years later he packed up and prepared to leave his home in Daein, promising to drop back in whenever he had a chance._

_“Zihark, you were really serious about traveling?”_

_Turning to his friend he nodded “Yeah…don’t tell me you thought I was joking all these years.”_

_“Not all the time but…alone? You sure that’s safe?”_

_Shrugging Zihark began walking away “I’ll meet other travelers and anyone who makes a move on me will regret it.”_

_“If you’re certain…”_

_“I most certainly am.”_

_“Well then…good luck.”_

_The man from Daein traveled to Crimea first, amazed at how much brighter and warmer it was compared to Daein. When snow fell in Daein, it fell here it seemed to be comfortable all year round._

_It was in the middle of his fascination that someone bumped him, a second person ran by calling out a quick “Sorry!”_

_Standing, Zihark raised an eyebrow as another group of people with weapons drawn approached “There they go! Get them!”_

_One man stopped next to Zihark “Did they harm you?”_

_“Not really…who were they?”_

_“Criminals! Help us stop them!”_

_“Uh…sure…we should-“_

_Before he could continue the man ran off after his comrades. Zihark turned, examining the buildings and judged the direction the strangers ran in. Stretching out his arms he charged forward, scaled a home and began running along the rooftops._

_Barely making out the cloaks that bumped into him he started leaping across homes as they took down an alley._

_Flipping off one of the homes he landed in front of the pair and pulled out his blade “Hey, sorry to drop in.”_

_“Are you with them?”_

_“Guess I am now. Just give back what you stole and we’ll all be cool.”_

_“No!” Zihark noted the first one in front was a man and the one behind him a woman._

_“Then we’ll have to do this the hard way.”_

_“Listen buddy, you really don’t know what you’re dealing with.”_

_“Then let me in on the secret.” At that moment the other men caught up. The two cloaked strangers leapt onto the wall and kicked off it, rolling to their feet behind Zihark who snatched one of the robes, pulling it off revealing the woman to be Laguz._

_And very, very beautiful._

_Awestruck he allowed them to go, the other man ran past him the same one as before stopping in front of him “What are you doing!? Let’s go!”_

_“Who are they?”_

_“Subhuman scum! That’s who!”_

_“What did they do!?”_

_“Did you not hear what I said? Subhumans!”_

_Spitting the man continued the chase. Standing straight, Zihark climbed onto one of the homes again and located the Laguz, running on the roofs alongside them he called down._

_“Hey! I’m going to get you out of here! Follow me!”_

_“Why should-“_

_“Just come on! I was wrong!”_

_The man looked back to the woman, they nodded and joined Zihark on the roof who then took off, headed for the town limits._

* * *

“Subhuman?”

Mia nodded “That’s what racist Beorc call Laguz.”

Leah gestured to the three of them “You are all Beorc?”

Mia and Zihark answered with bright “Yeps.”

Soren remained silent but gave a faint nod.

“We all just call each other Islanders here…you could split hairs and be Main, North or South Landers but…”

Shaking his head he turned to Zihark “So you helped these two Laguz?”

“Yep, we split from that town and those racists with ease after that. The two are very agile, I wondered why they didn’t lose them earlier.”

* * *

_The man fell to his knees. Zihark stood back as the woman approached him and examined his side for a deep wound._

_“They got him.”_

_She nodded “They were aiming for me…do you have siblings?”_

_Zihark shook his head as the Laguz man spoke “We are…I’d never let them hurt her.”_

_“So…my name is Zihark…and I’m really sorry for assuming you were criminals.”_

_The woman stood “My name is Nymie and this is my brother Naer.”_

_Stretching out the man turned to Zihark “We did steal from those men but only because they were harassing us for being Laguz. We felt they deserved it.”_

_Zihark nodded “Indeed they did…”_

_Nymie and Naer glanced at each other with the former speaking “You don’t…despise Laguz?”_

_“No…though I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting one…until now…and I must say I’m very luck to meet one as beautiful as you.”_

_As Nymie blushed Naer groaned “Really? C’mon man that’s my sister.”_

_Hearing the joking tone in Naer’s voice Zihark laughed “So, where are you two headed now?”_

_“Back to Gallia.” Nymie stated._

_“Mind if I tag along? Always wanted to see what Gallia was like.”_

_Naer scratched the back of his head “You could but there are just as many Laguz like the Beorc we just ran from. It won’t be all warm and fuzzy.”_

_“I’m from Daein, I have thick skin.”_

_Naer raised an eyebrow “Daein…a man from Daein that doesn’t hate Laguz. What are the odds?”_

_“Not just that.” Nymie stated walking towards Zihark “But one so handsome, I think I hit the jackpot.”_

_Zihark smirked, as Naer shook his head “Alright, that’s enough. You two do that in Gallia we’ll all be shunned.”_

_Looking to Naer Zihark was about to ask why when Nymie turned “Don’t care.”_

_“Of course you don’t, either way. Let’s go.”_

_Turning he started walking away with Nymie taking Zihark’s hand and leading him along with a bright smile._

* * *

The carriage fell silent, the three watching Zihark who had a warm smile on his face. They thought he was making a short pause for the story but it’s been a few minutes.

Mia finally tapped his shoulder “Z?”

“Hm? Oh…sorry…just got…lost in the memory.”

Zihark tapped his foot, thinking of what to say next when Soren spoke “You don’t have to continue for us, Z.”

“I know…but what came next was so…warm…Nymie was unlike any woman I ever met. So bright. So beautiful. It’s funny, one of the first Laguz I ever met and I fell head over heels for her.”

“Her brother was fine with that?” Leah asked.

Zihark smirked “Naer…he acted like any brother would telling me to stop flirting with his sister and when we got touchy feely he’d fake vomit. He told me in confidence once that our relationship…if it continued would be met with much hostility from Beorc and Laguz. If I didn’t want that I should just pack and leave in the night.”

“He was never angry at you for falling for Nymie?”

Zihark looked up to Soren and shook his head “Not really…he wasn’t threatening me, he was asking…if I didn’t have what it took I should just go. But I told him that was not an option.”

Mia leaned forward “So what happened?”

* * *

_Reaching Gallia, Zihark noticed several Laguz look in his direction and turn away._

_A few approached Naer and Nymie to talk but looked at Zihark warily. The man decided to ease their tension by lagging a few steps behind and looking to the homes. Much like Daein and Crimea were visually different, Gallia was even more unique._

_“So…who are you?”_

_Zihark looked to the Laguz who spoke to him “Zihark…and you are?”_

_The Laguz turned to Nymie “Why is he here?”_

_“He’s my boyfriend, that’s why.”_

_“Boyfriend? Naer, she’s pulling my leg right?”_

_“Nope.”_

_Zihark just grinned “I am her boyfriend.”_

_Turning away he whispered something to Nymie before walking away, the woman stuck her tongue out at his back._

_“Well, I’m going to get us some food, Nymie, show Zihark to our home.”_

_Grabbing Zihark’s arm she dragged him along._

_The two months Zihark spent in Gallia was beyond memorable. He could barely comprehend the fact that he left Daein only four months ago and was already in a place that felt so much like a…home._

_“They get paid to do that?”_

_Nymie nodded to Zihark, the couple was lying on the ground as Zihark sighed “Hard to believe. If I tried to pay other Beorc to hunt down innocent Beorc we’d all be arrested but since its Laguz its fine…they aren’t vigilantes, they’re monsters.”_

_Nymie sighed “There are far too many of them out there…it makes everyone hate everyone else so much when there are such beacons like you among them.”_

_“And like you and your brother…speaking of which, when is he getting back?”_

_Any word was cut off when Zihark heard the first screams, shooting to his feet he ran outside to see a home set ablaze._

* * *

“They don’t tell you these kinds of things.” He whispered. “Most people grow up knowing that Laguz and Beorc hated each other as much as they did…but they don’t tell you what happens when the hate flares up and blood is spilled…what’s even more unknown than that…is a hate I never even knew existed. At least not in the capacity I saw it.”

Zihark closed his eyes “Nymie asked me to help her protect her people. All of them. Even the ones who shunned her when she started seeing me…I begged her to run and leave it to me but they were her friends and family…her blood and her kind. She kissed me then and told me she loved me…”

“Zihark.”

Looking up the Daein saw Soren’s…concern. It was a surprise to see it, but not to realize that Soren knew exactly how the story ended.

“I got as many Laguz out as I could…the bodies I saw…filled me with such anger that when I found the arsonists…it didn’t matter that they were…Laguz.”

“Laguz?”

Nodding to Leah, Zihark continued “It’s not just Beorc who hated Laguz, Laguz hated another with even more ferocity. They knew of me and Nymie and were punishing the village, claiming it was for those who wish to create a Parentless sin. I killed them…all of them…I found one last pair beating one of their own. One of their own kind. Their own blood!”

Mia put a hand on Zihark’s shoulder, she felt how tense he was, though he was looking down she could see the anger in his eyes.

And then it all left.

* * *

_“Zihark…”_

_Turning the man almost cried out as he fell to the side of the fallen Laguz, Nymie._

_“No…no, no, no. Why?”_

_“Is everyone else…safe?”_

_“Yes. I got out everyone that I could…but why?”_

_“Thank you…Zihark…”_

_“Nymie? Nymie!”_

_Letting the tears fall, Zihark ignored the burning flames all around him, the dead bodies, the physical pain he endured that day did not match the pain he felt as he cried and cradled his love._

* * *

Zihark released a heavy sigh “I’ve never…ever been able to forget her.”

“You probably never will.”

Zihark nodded to Soren “Indeed I won’t…from then on I spent my life as she last asked me to…protecting Laguz. Ruining other Laguz hate group’s attempts to hunt down Laguz or joining them to help their prey escape from the inside. That’s when I met the Greil Mercenaries, during my infiltration of the Toha Vigilantes…and as I believe they say. From there the rest was history.”

After a short silence he continued “Naer came back shortly after…the look on his face was just as heartbreaking. He took my sword and tried to kill himself…I didn’t let him.”

* * *

_“They took my sister! My sister!”_

_“And the love of my life!”_

_“I can’t live with this Zihark! This pain I feel! You can’t possibly understand it!”_

_Moving towards him, Zihark ripped the sword away and pushed Naer to the ground “Believe me. I do. I loved her with everything that I am!”_

_Both men had tears on their face, the smoke filled village around them filled the area with a sense of sadness and dread._

_“She’d never forgive me if I let you throw your life away.”_

_Naer looked down and cried, barely asking “What do I do without her…what can I do alone?”_

_Zihark kneeled down next to him “I don’t know. But we have to live.”_

_Naer looked over to his sister, then to Zihark “Help me bury her.”_

_“Of course…and-“_

_“Don’t apologize Zihark…this was beyond our control…”_

_Helping the man up, Zihark nodded._

_The deed was done in silence, the pair looked to each other. Naer gave a barely noticeable nod before walking away._

* * *

“I never saw him again after that.”

Mia raised an eyebrow “Never?”

Zihark shook his head “I tried to find him…never could…I just pray he didn’t end it all one day…I’ll most likely never know but…I hope he found a way to keep living.”

Zihark then smiled to Soren and Mia “I know I did.”

They smiled back as the Daein looked to Leah “I imagine it’s odd a stranger getting so personal.”

The man shook his head “Not at all. We all have demons…letting them out is…it’s something indescribable.”

“Until you do so yourself.” Zihark whispered, his eyes finding Soren, who understood clearly what the Daein was trying to say.

“As heartbreaking as it ended up being, the love I felt for Nymie was the purest love I ever imagined. Even if she was a Laguz I let her know how I felt. How much she meant to me. I’d never…”

His eyes landed on Mia “I’d never keep that in. I never could. I didn’t. I let her know, perhaps a little too early in our relationship but she just laughed and went with it. Seeing as I already said it…she said it back…and we spent nearly two months in bliss.”

Mia looked down as Zihark released another deep breath. Their carriage came to a stop.

Leah wanted to say something else to Zihark but everything seemed so…pointless.

Shaking his head he gestured outside which prompted Soren to ask “Shall we?”

Zihark hopped out first, releasing another heavy sigh as Mia joined him, Soren exiting with Leah on the other side.

 “Z…did you really tell that story because-“

“I told it for a lot of reasons Mia…and I hope every reason helped.”

Mia nodded “Thank you. Z.”

“Don’t mention it.”

* * *

_Elsewhere…_

“So…this is fun.”

“Hey you didn’t have to tag along, Gatrie clearly wanted you to hang out with him a bit.”

“I’ve been ‘hanging out’ with him for years, a little time off with a beautiful woman is completely warranted.”

Uhnie rolled her eyes at that, before focusing again on her mark.

“Well Shinon if you are going to keep following me could you be quieter? Please?”

“Pfft, I’m totally quiet.”

Uhnie looked back at him, glaring. Shinon raised an eyebrow “What? The talking?”

“Not just that, the foot tapping, the knuckle scratching the constant pulling out of your arrows and toying with their sharp ends. The bow polishing and turn down your breathing please!”

“Hey, you learned all that shit about silencing your body from Volke years ago, no way I’m going to grasp on all that in a few minutes!”

Aggravated she clenched her fists “Could you at least…try?”

Putting his bow away he held up his hands “Alright.”

“Thank you.”

After a long silence, Shinon whispered _“Why are you so…uptight…no offense.”_

Not hearing a response he continued _“I mean…counting Thyremog you’ve been with us for at most two and half weeks, almost a month. Was that enough time for you to grow attached to us? Why else would you be doing all this?”_

Uhnie faced him _“I…feel compelled to.”_

_“Why?”_

Taking off her mask she gestured to her scars _“You wanted me to tell you about these right?”_

_“Now? What about your mark?”_

_“He doesn’t know I’m here, he’ll continue business as usual, I can always track him down later.”_

Shinon nodded before sitting back, no longer whispering “Alright then, let’s hear it.”

* * *

"My Pain"

_Three knives hit their marks dead center._

_Uhnie let out a silent “Yes!”_

_Volke examined the knives “Well done…now if these targets were moving you’d need a lot more focus.”_

_“Are we going out to find some moving targets?”_

_Volke shook his head “No. Not yet.”_

_Uhnie rolled her eyes “C’mon…I’ve been doing all this preparing to be like you! A shadow’s shadow that’s what you said I’d be! And yet I’ve done nothing but make some tricky knife moves and learn how to escape almost any grapple or turn it around…and pick all kinds of locks which I’ll admit, I loved that.”_

_“How long have we been training?”_

_“Four years.”_

_“How old are you?”_

_“…seventeen.”_

_“Yet you are still as brash and forward as your thirteen year old self. I find it commendable you didn’t adopt a more removed personality.”_

_Uhnie shrugged “Removed is boring.”_

_“Indeed. It’s still too-“_

_Volke stood up “Someone’s calling for the Fireman.”_

_“That’s another thing! All these years later and you still don’t tell me how you know that? Does the wind bring that to you or what?”_

_“Not too far from the truth. Uhnie. You’ll learn all these things soon enough…but believe me when I say. You aren’t ready.”_

_Uhnie rolled her eyes “At least let me come with you, I’ll stay out of the way while you do your Fireman thing. Cool?”_

_Volke crossed his arms and sighed “Alright. But stay in the shadows.”_

_She grinned “Honestly, I’m surprised your letting me tag along.”_

_“If I said no you’d come anyway.”_

_“True.”_

* * *

“I don’t believe that Volke talked that much.”

Uhnie laughed “Did he ever show interest in you?”

“Of course not, I’ve shared maybe two words with the guy.”

“He only interacts with contracts or those who interested him. I interested him and Ike and Greil were a combination of the two.”

Shinon nodded before raising an eyebrow “Ike told you about that?”

“Yeah, I asked him for his history with Volke on the way over. He was hoping by talking to me he could understand the man better. I cleared somethings up but didn’t reveal everything.”

“You and him work in such ridiculous ways.”

She smiled at that “The payoff is worth it.”

* * *

_Pulling up her face mask, Uhnie found a good spot and blended in, keeping an eye on the men below. They stole funds from a few local shops and were preparing to hit another few before leaving the State._

_“The man in the corner.” She whispered. Sure enough the man was dragged into the shadows, not even letting out a scream._

_After a while the five around the table started noticing his absence, two went to put the money in the carriage outside while the other three drew their weapons._

_As she expected, she barely made out a flash as Volke took out the two near the carriage. Finally he appeared before his marks, dashing forward as they yelled taking out one while the other two attempted to run, they didn’t make it far._

_Volke looked at Uhnie and held out his hand._

_“Stay? Aren’t you done?”_

_Shaking his head he walked off._

_As she prepared to follow one of the men stood up and began running away, while clutching his arm._

_“I can take this guy.”_

_Dropping down she began trailing him._

_“Hey.”_

_Turning he swung his weapon poorly, but struck nothing. Uhnie appeared behind him, straightening her hand she jabbed it into the man’s back. Twitching he fell face forward to the dirt._

_“Pathetic.”_

_Hearing a bowstring she slipped into the shadows as an arrow shot past her into the fallen man’s skull._

_“What the hell?”_

_As she peered out to see what that was, someone grabbed her from behind. Escaping his grip she leapt up and kicked him away, throwing her knives, two struck his chest, the third missed._

_“Give up?”_

_“A woman?”_

_Preparing herself he charged her, sliding low trying to trip her, she leapt over him and twisted to avoid a knife he threw her way. Landing as her enemy flipped to his feet she pulled out her short sword, spinning it to deflect another knife._

_“Well trained.”_

_“Thanks.”_

_“But not ready.” The man charged her again as an arrow struck the back of her leg. Cursing for forgetting there were two she took a knee to the face and fell back._

_Rolling away she threw a black ball that exploded into smoke. Leaping for other shadows she pulled the arrow out of her leg._

_“Good thing Volke isn’t here…he’d give me that look of his for not-“_

_Another arrow sunk into her arm causing her to cry out as the first man emerged. “Retreating?”_

_“How did-“_

_Standing she countered his blade with hers, remembering what Volke said about live now, pain later._

_“Little girl, you need to-“_

_Stepping back she ducked under his blade and stabbed him in the leg, as he fell she tore a knife out from his chest and jammed it in his throat. Tossing him aside she pulled her blade out of his leg and sliced an arrow in two._

_“Come out and face me coward!”_

_Hearing a chain she turned as a spear shot out of the darkness and impaled her chest._

_Trying her best to ignore it failed, pain shot through her body and she fell to on knee, gripping it as an arrow struck her in the back._

_“Three?”_

_“Yes three…who taught you that you honestly believed there would only be one of us?”_

_The man holding the chain which attached to the spear in her chest approached._

_“You’re teacher must have left you after the first verse because you failed the second and this is the chorus.”_

_She gripped the spear and ripped it out, crying out as she threw it aside._

_He kneeled down next to her as the archer finally appeared. Pulling off her face mask he chuckled “Well you are quite beautiful. How long till she bleeds out?”_

_She felt another arrow enter her back as the second man responded “Not long now.”_

_“You’ll be useful till then…why aren’t you crying?”_

_“I don’t cry.”_

_Taking out a knife, he gripped the back of her head “Hold still, I don’t want to gouge your pretty eye out.”_

_Planting the knife just below her eye he cut down her face, the blood that emerged brought a smile to his face._

_“Now…you are crying…and now we…will have our way with you.”_

_The archer began laughing only for Volke to fall upon him, sinking a jagged knife into his neck and ripping it out, pulling the man’s throat out with it before throwing it at the second man who deflected it with ease._

_“The Fireman. I take it you just finished with my other men.”_

_“Coldheart.”_

_“Yes that is my name…I’m surprised you actually managed to track me down after all this time. Why?”_

_“To kill you.”_

_“Ah just like Green Smoke and Shine Night…this your protégé?”_

_“Yes.”_

_“You did a piss poor job, we had her dead to rights, I still do!” Standing he pulled out his short sword “Come on Fireman we’re friends right?”_

_Volke narrowed his eyes as the other man continued talking “You clearly didn’t take her under your wing for her skill, how is she at night? I didn’t think you were like the rest of us but you are indeed…”_

_“I am not like any of you. Step away from her Coldheart.”_

_Spinning his chain he shook his head “I’ll let her live if you drop your weapons and surrender to me.”_

_Volke threw his knives to the ground, prompting Coldheart to chuckle “Finally I’ll have you out of my hair.”_

_Volke narrowed his eyes “There is always an opportunity. Take it.”_

_“I will.”_

_Screaming Uhnie lunged forward, using Volke’s jagged knife to stab Coldheart in the groin. Yelling he fell to the ground as Uhnie ripped it out and stabbed him in the chest, pulling the weapon out again she continued to stab the man as he screamed for her to stop. Eventually all that came from him where the gurgles of blood flooding his mouth and then silence._

_Even then Uhnie kept stabbing him._

_Volke picked up his weapons, sheathing them while he looked around to the fallen bodies then to Uhnie “We have to go. We have to get your injuries taken care of.”_

_She was still stabbing the body, getting the dead Shade’s blood all over her. Volke could feel her frustration, anger and disappointment._

_Moving closer he put a hand on her shoulder, her stabbing ceased. “We have to go.”_

_“Why?” her voice broke._

_Volke approached “Uhnie…we don’t cry.”_

_“I’m not a weapon. I’m not a monster. Neither are you. We’re people! People cry!”_

_Kneeling down next to her, Volke nodded “And people die…do you want to die here? Is this it for you?”_

_Uhnie shook her head as she wiped her face, smearing blood all over._

_As he stood she tried to follow but couldn’t. Kneeling down the Fireman picked her up and vanished into the night._

* * *

“He took care of all my wounds that night…I couldn’t understand why…”

Shinon remained silent as Uhnie sighed “He wasn’t the kind of teacher who yelled in frustration or seethed in anger…but I failed him. I insisted on going out when he said I wasn’t ready and I wasn’t. I moved when he told me to stay…I cried.”

“Uhnie. You know what those men were going to do to you.”

She looked at Shinon as he continued “Crying after the fact…perfectly normal.”

“Shades. Don’t. Cry.”

“People do! You said so yourself!”

“I’m not a person anymore Shinon! I haven’t been since I took the mantle of the Mistress of Fire! The night we spent together meant nothing to me!”

Shinon sighed “You think I didn’t know that? Think, why am I still here? I’m not some adolescent boy who falls in love with any woman who gives him the time of day. I’m not some optimist who thinks all love is pure. Like anything there is dirty love. Fake love. But I’m still here.”

Uhnie scoffed “Why?”

“You know why…now finish your story. What happened after he patched you up?”

* * *

_“Uhnie…I’m not mad.”_

_“I know you’re not. It’s been a month and you keep saying that.”_

_“If I was to punish you or become angry I’d be a hypocrite. Learning my craft I made many mistakes that led to deaths. You are still here. You got my message and I am still here…my mistakes are black marks in my long…long life.”_

_Uhnie looked at Volke “You always say that…and decades of experience as opposed to years…how old are you?”_

_Volke removed his mask and faced her. He was far younger than she imagined, possibly in his late 20s if even that._

_“I’m 94 years old.”_

_After a short silence, Uhnie started laughed “You’re fucking with me.”_

_“Have I told you about where I’m from? Tellius?”_

_“Yeah and about the countries and the people.”_

_“Which people?”_

_Uhnie thought back “Beorc and Laguz. People people and animal people.”_

_“It is possible for a Beorc and a Laguz to procreate. Giving birth to a Branded…like me.”_

_“A…Branded?”_

_Volke pulled up his sleeve revealing a series of long markings from his shoulder down to his wrist._

_“This is my Brand. My mother was a Beorc, my father a Wolf Laguz.”_

_“Wolf Laguz?”_

_“They live beyond the Desert of Death in Hatari. My mother was part of an expedition trying to cross the desert. She was the sole survivor and passed out near Hatari where my father found her…he brought her to his village and one thing led to another.”_

_Uhnie sat down next to him as he pulled his sleeve down “In Hatari no one cares if you are a man loving a man, a woman loving a woman, a Laguz loving a Beorc. I had a blessed childhood compared to others of my kind.”_

_Uhnie nodded slowly “Why tell me all this?”_

_“I’m not entirely sure…I felt your innate talent when you stole from me all those years ago and even then…why would I need a student? I’m going to outlive you Uhnie and then what? Find another student?”_

_Uhnie remained silent as Volke sighed “There is a very…complex yet simple reason as to why I became a Shade. To summarize I’m at war with the Shades and maybe…meeting you I finally found an ally to help me…if you want to continue down this road.”_

_She nodded as Volke stood before asking “Do you have any family? I mean 94 years. Ever married?”_

_Volke shook his head “Shades know all about each other…if you become one you will find your life known…those closest to you will be targeted and killed in hopes of breaking your resolve.”_

_Uhnie stood after him “I’ve encountered and know of very few female Shades and I have this to say to you Uhnie. You don’t have to sacrifice your life as a woman to be a Shade.”_

_“But you just said-“_

_“I would never try…I don’t think I’m one for other people in the way you imagine. But you…I think you are fully capable of fighting a black war and protecting those you love. You can be the Shade that I know you can be without resorting to losing yourself…your body…your heart…”_

_She laughed at that “I’m sure you know I’m not exactly the most guarded person when it comes to ‘forming relationships’.”_

_“Even so, you do that on your terms for yourself. Never do it as an occupation or as a duty.”_

_“And I thought you couldn’t connect with people…”_

_Volke smirked “I’ve never experienced this before. Having a student. It’s like…”_

_“Having a child.”_

_“No…having a…sister.”_

_Uhnie smiled at that, “I have a gift for you, Uhnie.”_

_“What is it?”_

_Taking out his knife, Volke pulled up his sleeve again and cut along his arm._

_“Volke! What the hell?”_

_Bringing the knife to her face he nodded, closing her eyes she felt it cut through her, over her lip._

_“Symmetry.”_

_She smiled at that as he continued “The reason I know when I am called for is because of my Branded blood. I have the impeccable hearing of my father’s species as well as the unmatchable sense of smell…it doesn’t matter how far away the call is, I’ll always hear it when people want The Fireman.”_

_“You think giving me your blood will do the same for me.”_

_“Possibly. Though you still aren’t ready. We have much more training to do.”_

_“What about the Shades?”_

_Volke pulled his mask up “I can multitask. I am asking you one last time. The Shade war will most certainly never end. Are you certain you want to be a part of this?”_

_Uhnie nodded “Fuck yeah I do.”_

_“Alright then.”_

* * *

“I think I know more about Volke than anyone else alive…well…aside from you.”

Uhnie nodded as Shinon continued “I never imagined him to be so indirect. Basically he said not to offer up your body to trap targets right?”

Nodding again Uhnie spoke “He sees me as a sister…he worries about me in that way…he wants me to have a normal life because he believes I can.”

“You don’t think so though. That’s why the attitude and the one night stands.”

Uhnie laughed “Shinon. I haven’t shared a bed with anyone since Volke took me under his wing. I flirt a lot and get relatively dirty with my jokes but I don’t drag every man I meet to bed with me, I’m not a-“

“Woah! Woah! I was NOT implying that!”

She continued laughing “See what I mean.”

Shinon cursed as Uhnie looked at him “So you don’t think I’m a lost cause?”

The marksman, became uncharacteristically serious “No. I’ll be as blunt as I can you are the most beautiful and dangerously sexy person I’ve ever met and I’m going to win your heart.”

“Alright then…do me a favor.”

* * *

Walking into a large storage house, a man in a black robe and blue mask looked around before cursing “The meeting time was set days ago…”

As he walked around he kicked something, looking down he found one of his men, dead.

“Hey there Ion Jack.”

Turning the man leapt aside as several knives struck the ground near him.

“Mistress of Fire.”

Landing she stood up and spun her short sword as Ion Jack shook his head “Still working for The Fireman?”

“Not for. With.”

Dashing at each other, blades flared and knives flew. Leaping to kick him aside she flipped away.

Arrows struck the ground around Ion Jack, throwing him off “What is this.”

Shinon landed looking up to reveal he now wore his own face mask “Hey.”

“Who are you?”

Pulling back on his bow he spoke “Deadeye.”

* * *

_Major Port City, Wisin_

Night fell on Wisin, Leah sat at a bench in a park, exhausted as Soren, Mia and Zihark approached.

“Nothing.”

“Well this place is pretty big.” Mia started with Zihark adding “Massive.”

“We can continue tomorrow, let’s go find an inn.” Soren commented.

Leah sighed “I just…I’m sorry.”

Soren raised an eyebrow “About what?”

Leah shook his head with Mia sitting down next to him “I knew we wouldn’t find my brother by just walking around…I didn’t want to find him so I…I didn’t say anything. I’m sorry.”

Zihark crossed his arms “So you’ve been lying to us. To your parents. You don’t want to find him.”

Leah clenched his fists and shook his head “No…I do…I think I do. But I’m scared…”

Leah looked up at Soren “I stood at home with my parents because I convinced myself I didn’t need this. I convinced myself I was at home because I wanted to care for them because I loved them but every day I fought the urge to come here and find Nihil. Every. Single. Day.”

Zihark sat on the ground followed by Soren who asked “Why?”

Leah closed his eyes as Mia put a hand on his back “You can tell us.”

“I know…I owe you all at least this much.”

* * *

"My Brother"

_"Leah!"_

_“Yeah mom!”_

_“Can you go with your brother to pick up some groceries?”_

_“Uh…he can’t go alone?”_

_His mom appeared with a smile “What’s wrong?”_

_“Well…all the boys disappearing…”_

_She shook her head “Oh…it’s sad but you know your brother will protect you.”_

_Leah nodded “He will…alright…I’ll go, we’ll be safe.”_

_His mother smiled as Leah put his sketchbooks away he stood up “Nihil?”_

_“Already outside.”_

_Walking outside he nodded to Nihil, Leah was currently fourteen and Nihil nineteen._

_“Let’s go bro.” He stated. As they walked Leah noted the short sword along his brother’s back “I thought mom told you to get rid of that.”_

_“Yeah but why? I’m practicing. I’m careful. I’m not gonna cut my hand off.”_

_As they walked a man approached Nihil. “Wait here Leah.”_

_Walking off a few feet, Leah noted him exchange a few words before nodding and rejoining him._

_“What was that about?”_

_“Don’t worry about it.”_

_But for whatever reason, he couldn’t ignore it._

_Many nights found Leah waking up cold because Nihil left the window open after he snuck out. Leah wasn’t sure how many times it happened but given everything, this time, he decided to follow his brother._

_Nihil eventually entered an old building no longer in use._

_Noting one of the windows, Leah climbed up to see Nihil speaking with the same man from earlier and a few other men present._

_Another one about the same age as Nihil appeared. After some talking the men stood off to the side and Nihil and the man across from him pulled out their blades and started dueling._

_Leah tilted his head “What are you doing?”_

_Leah wasn’t sure what kind of event this was, until Nihil was stabbed and blood fell to the floor. Leah’s eyes widened as Nihil eviscerated his opponent, as the man screamed Nihil sunk his blade into his chest, all the other men except two were cheering._

_“The missing boys are…dead?”_

_Feeling sick Leah hopped down and ran home._

* * *

Soren grimaced “Those kinds of things exist here.”

“That one specifically was the Sharks Row…based in Usvale for a few years.”

“You confronted your brother, I imagine.” Zihark stated.

Leah nodded “I…waited for him to tell me but…every night that I saw the window opened it got worse…two…four…six people that he killed for money…I was honestly scared that he’d…kill me.”

Soren swallowed “So…what happened?”

* * *

_“Nihil!”_

_Stopping he turned “Leah? What are you doing here? Go home!”_

_“I know what you’ve been doing and you have to stop!”_

_Nihil crossed his arms “I’m not doing any-“_

_“You’ve been killing people! Why?”_

_Nihil approached Leah and turned him around “Go home.”_

_“Nihil! Tell me the truth!”_

_“Think, Leah. Dad had an accident and can’t work. Mom has to take care of him. Why do you think we still have food eh? Because of me!”_

_“You don’t need to kill people for us!”_

_Nihil nodded “I know. I knew that when I first signed up for this.”_

_“Then why?”_

_“Because I became really good at this! You know what they call me? The Skewer! How awesome is that!?”_

_“That’s not awesome! You’re a killer!”_

_Nihil stepped forward and struck Leah as hard as possible, throwing him to the ground “Go home.” Turning away he continued walking, Leah knew exactly where to. And what to do._

_Without pause he went to the City Guard and told them everything, they flooded the place and arrested all those casting bets and Nihil who had just finished killing his last victim._

* * *

“When my parents asked where Nihil was I told them that he was off working a bunch of jobs and would be home in a few days. They were really proud of him caring for them as much…”

Mia gestured to Leah’s blade “So what about that? Did you make it…just in case?”

Leah shook his head “No.”

“Wait.”

Leah looked to Soren “The family…picture.”

“Photo.”

“Photo? Never mind that…in it, he’s twelve. If he was around till he was nineteen then why don’t you have any other…photos?”

“I…got rid of them all. Told my parents he took them with him for us…I didn’t like seeing his face…”

Soren nodded slowly as Leah resumed his story.

* * *

_“Nihil.”_

_Looking to see his brother on the other side of the cell he spat “What do mom and dad think of you getting me stuck in here.”_

_“They don’t know…if they did they’d be heartbroken. You were killing people.”_

_“I was the Skewer! Now I’m a prisoner! Worth nothing!”_

_“You were worth nothing as the Skewer!”_

_“When I get out of here…”_

_A few guards walked over and escorted Leah out._

_After a month Leah’s parents were very concerned over where Nihil was._

_Leah was about to tell them the truth when Nihil came to the door._

_“Nihil! Where have you been?”_

_He smiled “Don’t worry about it. I’ve been fine. I’m just going to Wisin, I landed a really great job.”_

_The parents smiled with his father hugging him “That’s fantastic!”_

_Nihil nodded “I’m sorry that I went to Wisin without saying anything but I wanted to clinch this job and I did.”_

_His mother breathed a sigh of relief “That’s brilliant Nihil.”_

_Nihil smiled “I know. Mom. Dad. With this I’ll be able to send money…I’ll visit if I can it’s super demanding.”_

_Taking out an envelope he handed it to Leah, while his parents still tried to get more details, Leah kept looking at the letter and the smile on Nihil’s face._

* * *

Reaching into his coat Leah pulled out a crumpled piece of paper.

“You know what I’m doing. I’m giving you an ultimatum. Learn how to fight with a sword and come find me. I’ll be waiting for your challenge.”

Soren shook his head “He wants to fight you? Kill you?”

Leah shrugged “I didn’t want to believe it then I got this from a messenger.” He gestured to his blade, pulling it out of the sheath, the group noted it was an ice blue with a dark tip “This is Cerulean, as you can imagine it looks more like a blade my brother would use. I’m certain he has an orange one and it is painfully obvious what he wants. Whoever is killed claims their rightful sword. Money came in like he said it would but I never used it, I worked, made my own wages and provided for my parents that way…”

Mia sighed “Why go this far?”

“I’ve been scared of the answer for most of my life…but now…I have to. I have to see him because I need that answer.”

Zihark stood “So that’s why we didn’t find him, he’s likely fighting underground somewhere.”

“Again, I’m sorry for wasting your time today…I know you came here for another reason. But I’m not ready…I don’t think I’ll ever be.”

Soren stood now “Leah. You will be and when you are we’ll go with you.”

Leah looked up as Soren continued “Because from your story I know you are a good person. You have a good heart…and every time you hold that weapon.”

“Your hand shakes.” Mia said with Zihark nodding.

“I’m scared.”

“You’re being human…and you’re afraid that if you use it you’ll lose your humanity like your brother did. You won’t. You are too good for that. Trust yourself.”

Mia stood now and helped Leah up as he spoke “For strangers you are the kindest people I’ve ever known.”

“We get that a lot.” Mia commented.

Zihark snapped his fingers “We’ll train you for your fight. I’m sure you are good as you are but there is nothing wrong with being prepared right?”

“I don’t know…”

Mia laughed “It’s fine, just join our next session, we are still training Soren after all.”

Soren held out his hands “But first, let’s find that inn.”

Zihark nodded “Yeah, I’m exhausted.”

Leah sighed “Thank you. All of you.”

As they stood up to walk Zihark tapped his chin “So what’s a photo?”

* * *

“That him?”

The stranger that was spying on the Mercenaries before nodded to his comrade “Yes sir…surely you can tell.”

“I can…you did well Kanahana.”

He bowed “Thank you my lord...when will we move in?”

The other man smirked “Soon. They did half the work for us by splitting up…come.”

Shooting off into the night sky, he left Kanahana by himself who looked down to the foreigners “I will not be sharing you…with anyone…”

* * *

_Wisin Inn_

Soren sighed, the day was beyond exhausting.

Feeling at peace he sat on his bed, next to him was a…camera. Some odd device that people on Hitenticul used to take…photographs of each other. The images varied with most of them being a little too grainy while others came out with fine color.

Leah showed them one and Soren’s curiosity got the better of him, he bought one because he wanted to know exactly how it worked and why it didn’t work all the time.

Propped up against the wall and closed his eyes, maybe another time, he clearly needs some rest.

After a few moments he heard a soft knock.

“Come in.”

Mia entered and smiled “Hey.”

She noted the camera and chuckled “Still workin on that?”

Soren shook his head, taking it and putting it away. He then looked to her, noting as she just stood there…awkwardly. Finally she closed the door behind her and Soren could see she was debating whether to approach him or go back out the door and pretend she never stepped in.

“Hey…what’s wrong?”

She shook her head “Nothing…I just…want to tell you…”

“Mia, I understand your hesitation. You don’t-“

“I do. Soren I know you have your reasons but I want you to know full well that I trust you with everything. Including this.”

Soren nodded as she sat on the bed “Alright…and Mia, I’m sorry that I’m not telling you what I should…I just…”

“Don’t explain yourself. It’s alright. It’s my turn to share.”

* * *

"My Origin"

_Mia was born in a small humble town in Crimea to parents who loved her more than anything and wanted the world for her._

_One day a woman came to the town, Mia was amazed at how strong she looked. All the girls she knew as friends enjoyed simple things and the women in town were content at working or living at home._

_This woman however, looked nothing like them, a black coat and long black ponytail falling behind her, confidence in every step and lean muscle on her arms._

_She came to Mia’s home to speak with her father “Excuse me. Sir. I’m here looking for this man.”_

_She held up a picture as Mia’s father donned a pair of glasses and peered closely. “Isn’t that the thief that’s been making the rounds?”_

_“Yes sir. I’m on his trail and last I checked he was heading this way.”_

_Shaking his head he answered “I’m afraid I haven’t seen anything odd.”_

_Mia also saw the image and she swore she saw someone like that sometime ago._

_Thanking her father the woman left and Mia caught sight of a long curved blade at her hip._

_Dinner came and Mia looked to her mother “Mom…do you think I could learn how to fight?”_

_Her mother tilted her head, Mia was nine at this time and it seemed like such an odd question “Would you want to?”_

_She shrugged “I don’t know…but if I did. Could I?”_

_Her mother smiled “Whatever it is you want to learn how to do, I’m sure you can Mia. The Goddess knows you have energy to spare.”_

_Her father nodded “You’d probably be the best student ever, always ready for the next lesson and never backing down from a spar…I could see it.”_

_“Really?”_

_“I wouldn’t want you to get hurt or do anything too dangerous…but if you want to learn how, as long as you learn properly, I’m sure everything would work out.”_

_Mia believed them and decided someday she’d pick up a weapon. It was odd how a chance glimpse of the strong woman would leave such an impression._

_A few days later she spotted the man, sneaking through the forest behind her town. Acting quickly she ran over to her neighbor and asked if the strong woman was still in town._

_Near the lake, the woman was fishing when she heard a small voice calling for her. Turning she spotted a young girl with purple hair and bright green eyes though she seemed a little panicked._

_“Well hello…who might you be?”_

_“I’m Mia. That guy. I saw him.”_

_Her expression shifted from one of curiosity to determination._

_“Where?”_

_Mia led her to the edge of the forest where the woman told her to wait as she began her search._

_Mia’s own curiosity however led to her going in a few moments later._

_She found the woman with the man fallen at her feet, begging._

_“Sympathy? You’ll get none from me.”_

_“I figured as much.”_

_A few hired bandits appeared and attacked the woman and Mia watched in awe as they were effortlessly and elegantly taken down before the woman used her hilt to knock out the man and slung him over her shoulder._

_As Mia approached the woman noted her “I thought I told you not to follow.”_

_“How did you do that?”_

_The woman sighed “Dead bodies. You’re supposed to throw up or something. Are you alright?”_

_Mia just smiled, her awe evident in her face. Finally the woman answered “I taught myself. It’s my own blade technique.”_

_“What’s it called?”_

_The woman chuckled “I never thought to give it a name…”_

_“What’s your name?”_

_“Rey…is that all?”_

_Mia turned and started heading out of the forest with Rey close behind “I’m going to be like you.”_

_At that Rey laughed “Dream big, Mia.”_

* * *

“From that day on, any stray stick I came across I used and pretended it was a blade, I tried to replicate what I saw of Rey that day. Her moves never left my mind but I could never match up to them.”

“You were just a child.”

Mia nodded “And a girl…a few boys thought it funny I was even bothering to practice. Girls can’t master the blade they said…I never listened because I knew for a fact that Rey did.”

Soren chuckled “You’re spirit was unbreakable then as well.”

“Three years later when I was twelve…a man named Borgum brought a portion of land and became the title holder of the area where my home was as well as two other villages. Things were never the same after that.”

Soren narrowed his eyes as she continued “He stole from us, claiming taxes but even I knew that he shouldn’t be taking that much. Many families couldn’t afford their homes so his men came down and destroyed the homes, not even giving the families a notice. Some homes fell on their occupants the rest of the village rushed to save them…”

“That’s why.”

Mia looked to Soren “That’s why you responded in such a way when you saw what Jilger had done.”

Mia nodded “All the money he stole from the villages went to building a mansion for himself…the people rallied and voiced their complaints at his door…my father forbid me to go as much as I wanted to. He was worried Borgum would do something and harm the people, he wanted me as far from their as possible.”

* * *

_Mia’s thirteenth birthday came, she didn’t expect anything big given the money problems village wide and that fact broke her parents’ hearts. Her neighbors whose children she played with every day and showed off her ‘stick style’ banded together with her parents and brought her a real training sword._

_Holding the wooden weapon, Mia cried and embraced her parents before running to her neighbors and thanking them. Her friends were impressed, even the boys that she seemed to be forming…something. With no teacher except her memory of Rey, Mia created her own style._

_Mia made a wish that day to see Rey again and despite her own thoughts that it would never happen, Rey appeared at the door to Borgum’s mansion, yelling something through the barricade._

_Mia recognized her voice even four years later and went to see her._

_“You little…Mia? Is that you?”_

_“You remember me?”_

_Rey bent down to get a better look at her “You’ve been busy.” Her eyes moved to Mia’s trainer._

_“Heh…looks like I’m a source of inspiration.”_

_Mia nodded bringing a smile to Rey’s face “I do my mercenary work mainly for myself…but I enjoy seeing the smiles on people’s faces when I arrest thieves and the like…and now I have a student of sorts.”_

_Mia’s eyes widened “Can you teach me!?”_

_Rey stood “I don’t know…it depends on what your parents say and my schedule. Right now I’m a little busy though.”_

_Mia smiled as the doors opened and a few men walked out. Rey narrowed her eyes “Where is Borgum?”_

_“He is not coming out and would appreciate it if you left and stopped spewing lies at his door.”_

_“Lies!?”_

_Spitting she shook her head “I’ll be back…let him know, because when I come back he is losing everything!”_

_As soon as she turned the men descended on her, grabbing her before pulling her into the mansion as she yelled for them to release her. Mia tried to move in but a man knocked her to the ground with a small push, door slamming behind them._

* * *

“When I stood up…I felt something a child so young probably should not.”

She looked at Soren “Hatred. Pure red hatred. My hands were shaking my heart was pounding I swear everything looked red, I had never felt such fury…made worse by the fact that I was thirteen…what was I going to do?”

Soren put a hand on her shoulder “You did do something though.”

“Better believe it.”

* * *

_Mia asked her friends for help, begged them. They decided to help simply because none of them liked Borgum for what he was doing to their parents so her friends started throwing rocks at his windows._

_When the men came out, the children scattered and Mia took that time to run in._

_Small as she was she hid in the decorative garden when the men returned before making her way for the main door._

_Finding it locked she scaled the building and entered through a second story window. The room she was in was empty but someone was coming, acting quickly she dove under the bed._

_Borgum entered the room “Is the bitch still screaming?”_

_“Yes sir…we beat her but she doesn’t stop and she won’t take any amount of money.”_

_He rolled his eyes “She’s a mercenary! Keep trying, she’ll break eventually.”_

_“If she doesn’t?”_

_“We have her sword kill her with it we’ll pass it off as some ritual suicide or some nonsense.”_

_She waited under the bed until the servant was gone and Borgum’s snores filled the air. Crawling out she looked at the man, in that moment she wanted nothing more than her sword to be real._

* * *

“I wanted to kill him. A thirteen year old, desiring nothing more than being able to end the man who sought to ruin my life.”

Soren remained silent, feeling the rage radiating from Mia.

She shook her head “Isn’t that terrible?”

“Mia, it’s nothing to be ashamed about.”

“The only thing I was ashamed about was that I couldn’t kill him.”

* * *

_Deciding to head down, she worked her way to the 1 st floor where she spotted another staircase to a basement._

_Once down there she found a relatively empty room and a door. Walking through it revealed a winding staircase down._

_Reaching a bigger room at the bottom she noted several sacks around, opening one, gold coins fell out._

_“Who’s there!?”_

_Jumping, Mia turned and approached the voice. She found Rey, with bruises all over her body and blood from her forehead dripping over her left eye. To wrap it all up her arms and legs were chained to the wall._

_“Mia? What are…?”_

_Shaking her head she hissed “You have to get out of here! I won’t be responsible for what they do to you if they find you!”_

_Mia tried to open the door, noting the lock._

_Who would have it?_

_Hearing a door open and footsteps approaching Rey begged her again to leave._

_“I’m not going to!”_

_“Mia! I’m a stranger, you shouldn’t give your life for a stranger!”_

_“Then why do you?”_

_Hiding, she noted the guard approach and open the door._

_“Alright Rey, last offer from the top. One hundred thousand.”_

_She spat on the man who laughed “Then I get to beat you again, fine by me.”_

_Emerging, Mia rushed forward and used all her might to hit the man in the back of the leg with her trainer. Yelling he kneeled down to cover his bruise before facing Mia._

_“You!”_

_Struggling against her restraints Rey reached as close as she could and sunk her teeth into the man’s neck. As he screamed she pulled away, he gripped his neck and fell over struggling as Rey spat his flesh out of her mouth._

_“The key.” She rasped._

_Shaking herself, Mia grabbed it and freed Rey who retrieved her sword._

_Feeling lightheaded Mia hunched over and threw up prompting Rey to chuckle “That’s about what I expected.”_

* * *

Soren watched Mia calm down, the rage was gone but he had to admit it was odd seeing such a normally happy person become so angry. He couldn’t imagine what she would be like on the battlefield if she embraced that hate.

Shaking his head he decided to lighten his own mood “Mia…you are still so much like you were then.”

She looked to Soren “Aren’t I?”

“Selfless. Determined.”

“Adorable?”

“Beautiful.”

Mia lost her train of thought, looking to Soren “I…ah…”

Blushing she whispered “Thank you…”

Soren leaned back “So after you let her out?”

“She ah…she…went to the guard two villages over since the ones close by were bought off and showed them a bag of the wrongly seized gold. They sprang into action and a lot of arrests were made. Borgum, all his people and many of the neighboring city guards.”

“Good to know.”

“That should have been the end of it…after that I asked my parents if I could train with Rey and I did for about seven months until she got a job elsewhere in Crimea. I asked my parents if I could go with her…”

* * *

_“Do you want to take her with you?” Her mother asked Rey._

_Rey looked at Mia who smiled up at her. “Ma’am. Sir. She just…wormed her way into my heart.”_

_Her father laughed “She did that to us the moment she was born.”_

_“I never really thought I’d have a student but…now…I can’t imagine not having one. I know she is only fourteen.”_

_“And a half.”_

_Rey chuckled “And a half…but I swear to protect her.”_

_The parents looked to one another before her mother approached and hugged Mia “I’ll miss you.” After she kissed the top of her head, her father joined them._

_“I’ll visit when I can.”_

_Rey and Mia left the village then, Rey doing jobs and training Mia all over Crimea._

_Until the invasion._

_The Mad King’s War._

_The pair was hiding in a tree when a regiment of Daein troops marched past them._

_Once they were far enough they dropped down._

_“Most of them are coming in from the east, we should head south.”_

_She looked at Mia who spoke “My home…it’s in the path!”_

_She tried to run ahead but Rey grabbed her “What are you going to do alone? You’ll get killed!”_

_“My parents!” she screamed._

_Rey released her “Mia…if you go there you’ll die.”_

_“I don’t care.”_

_With that she ran off._

* * *

Soren noted the tears falling from Mia’s face “When I got home…it was like a storm had come through…”

“Mia.”

“My house was burned out…my parents were…dead…”

Soren put his arms around her and embraced her.

“I was found by a troop of Daein soldiers…I didn’t have any desire to fight so they imprisoned me with no trouble…”

As she sniffed, several thoughts forced themselves to the front of Soren’s mind but he pushed them away, now was not the time.

“I…I don’t know what to say.”

Mia put her arms around her and buried her face in his chest “This is enough…thank you Soren.”

Closing his eyes he spoke “You don’t have to continue Mia.”

“I’m almost done…it’s just…my parents…after all these years.”

Soren was about to say ‘I understand’ but resisted it, he didn’t understand what it was like to have loving parents, parents who were there. Mia did and she lost them.

Pulling away she smiled at him, he looked to her tear stained cheeks and brought a hand up to wipe them away.

“You alright?”

She nodded and took a deep breath before continuing.

* * *

_Mia sat in her cell, unable to comprehend that her home, friends, her mother, father were gone._

_She didn’t care what happened to her. As her cell door opened she expected someone to execute her instead an older man with brown hair and an orange cape appeared “Are you Mia?”_

_“…”_

_“Hey, I’m getting you out of here.”_

_“I don’t want to go.”_

_“Kid, you have to.”_

_“…”_

_“Rey sent me.”_

_Mia looked up “Rey?”_

_“Yes, old acquaintance of mine. I was coming this way she begged me to be on the lookout for a girl named Mia. Her student.”_

_Mia stood up “Is she here?”_

_“No, but I swear to you she sent me to get you out, now come on!”_

_Her friends and family were gone…but her teacher was still here. Exiting the cell, Greil pushed a blade into Mia’s hands and headed off._

_“H-hey! What about me!”_

_Greil rounded the corner, ignoring the man who Mia approached._

_“Borgum.”_

_After all these years, here he was. No doubt he tried to bribe a Daein and wound up in jail and with that new ugly bruised eye. The thirteen year old in herself surfaced, the rage returned as his eyes found her._

_“Are you one of mine?”_

_Using the blade she cut the lock and opened the door._

_He stood “Thank you! Thank you! I-“_

_He gasped as Mia pushed her blade into his chest. He looked at her cold, impassive face…so reminiscent of Rey after every torture session._

_Pulling her blade out she let him fall to the floor and left the prison._

_In her attempts to exit the building she wound up walking into a fight between the Greil Mercenaries and several Daein soldiers. Seeking out the acting leader of the Mercenaries she joined them, ready to put her hate to use._

_After the battle as the Mercenaries returned to camp she noticed something in the trees and broke away to investigate._

_“Rey?”_

_“Mia…thank the Goddess…come on, we-“_

_“I’m not going anywhere. Not until I’ve killed as any Daein as possible and gotten rid of this…hate.”_

_Rey shook her head “You never will. No matter how many you strike down.”_

_“I’ll try.”_

_“And you’ll succeed I know…but you need more than hate, more purpose than vengeance for when the fighting is over…believe me.”_

_Mia sighed “Then what do I do?”_

_Rey crossed her arms “Whatever you can. I have to go…I’d love for you to join me but something tells me…your purpose is here.”_

_“Why don’t you join us? You were a friend of Greil’s right?”_

_“I did some mercenary work with him in Gallia in the past yes…but…I can’t.”_

_Mia sighed, before she could speak Rey approached her and hugged her “You are my only student but without a doubt the best student ever.”_

_Mia chuckled at that as she hugged her teacher back “Stay safe Rey. I want to see you when all this is over.”_

_Rey pulled away and nodded “You too…good luck.”_

_Mia stood there as Rey vanished into the trees._

* * *

“After that I had my formal introduction with you. You remember that right?”

Soren nodded “I do…”

Mia shook her head “So…my face that you saw was a pretty good façade eh? For the first half of the war all I wanted was to kill as many people as I could. I just needed to see them feel pain for what I felt…”

“Mia. They took your family from you.”

She nodded “But I let that hate control me for…far longer than it should have. Making friends with Marcia, Ilyana, Nephenee and Zihark helped me along…but I kept flashing back to when I saw Borgum…every time I did I killed him in a harsher way, trying to channel my hate and pain into him…”

Soren put a hand on her shoulder “What is it you tell me every time I pity myself?”

Mia looked to the sage as he continued “Look at where you are now. You got through that and if I may say so you are a truly happy person now. Despite your painful past you no longer let it control you.”

She chuckled “I am pretty awesome eh?”

“Indeed.”

Wiping her face again she sighed as Soren leaned back “Whatever happened to Rey?”

“Hm? Oh…she actually tracked me down shortly after the Mad King’s War. I met with her in the town near the Mercenary Fort. We talked and she was glad I found a place to be…I really felt at peace with the Mercenaries…they were like a new family. I still missed her though…I asked if she’d join now but she didn’t think it possible to be around all those people. Her own past has its dark places so I let her go…she still wrote quite a lot to me…and then one day I had this, urge to go see her.”

Soren raised an eyebrow “When?”

“Before you found me and told me about leaving Tellius. I went to see her, talk to her…I guess now I know why.”

“What did you talk about?”

Mia thought to herself.

* * *

_Putting her blade away she sighed as Rey approached “Flawless as ever. I really don’t think you need these sessions anymore._

_“No I definitely do. Something tells me I do.”_

_Rey nodded before sitting “I know you turn into a fourteen year old with a crush but how are things with Soren?”_

_Mia couldn’t even take offense to that as her face burned and she whispered “Fine.”_

_“Still haven’t said anything?”_

_Mia shook her head as Rey laughed “You have such confidence in your actions but when it comes to this man it all falls apart. You fell so hard I can’t believe it.”_

_Mia sighed “Sometimes I can’t either.”_

_“Well I’ll tell you this, if he doesn’t realize what you feel for him or turns you away he is the biggest fool in the whole of Tellius.”_

_Mia sat down next to Rey “You think it’ll work out? He still has his secrets.”_

_“We all have secrets Mia but love has a way of breaking through all that. You’ll see.”_

* * *

Realizing Soren was still looking at her, waiting for her to say something she let out a painfully nervous laugh and shook her head “Not much…just the usual fare. I told her I didn’t know when I’d visit her again…I felt a change on the horizon and we had a few more personal things to say then I left…which is when I came across you.”

“And ambushed me.”

“Yeah…good times…”

Soren rolled his eyes at that “Thank you for telling me all this.”

“Thank you for listening…it feels good to let this out...and even better to know that it changes nothing between us."

Nodding slowly the sage thought about that. All the stress in regards to his past…he let it out once for Ike and it was a relief but now. He knew he had to tell Mia, not just because she asked but because it was a barrier between them that he desperately wanted to break.

Mia yawned “Wow…it’s late…like we should have been asleep yesterday.”

Soren yawned as well as Mia stood “I better go before I pass out here.”

“Mia.”

“Hm?”

“I want to alter my promise a bit.”

She remained silent as he thought.

_“You’re backing yourself into a corner.”_

“I’ll tell you my story here. While we’re in Hitenticul.”

“Soren…you don’t have to force yourself.”

He nodded “I know…but I feel I have to or else I’ll just keep making excuses.”

Mia smiled “Well, when you are absolutely certain I’ll be ready to listen. Good night, Soren.”

“Good night, Mia.”

After she left her sat back down on his bed.

_“Her parents…”_

“That wasn’t my fault.”

_“Your father gave the order.”_

Soren shook his head “It wasn’t me, I wasn’t even in Daein!”

He swore the voice was laughing at him as he laid down.

His conscious would keep trying to keep him silent, keep his truths away from Mia till the end of time. He had to take a stand sooner or later. He had to let it out.

He had to tell her his story.


	20. Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ike's group meets with the Five Pieces. Soren's group splits up to find the Sharks and Gahnzo & Tohgum but meet...someone else...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Five Pieces: King, Queen, Rook, Knight, Bishop, what could their naming convention be?  
> Easy enough...but what about Unitt, Usvale, Wisin, Heogettr and Quadnis?

**Chapter 19 - Encounter**

_Centra Stronghold_

"Sirs. A foreign...delegation is here to speak with you."

One of the Five Pieces, the Rook: Lyger Heitnaro turned to face the messenger and raised an eyebrow “Foreign delegation?”

Lyger wore thick, steel armor, the body painted red while the trims remained silver. His shoulder guards extended fairly out while coarse mythril covered his arms and exposed abdomen area. His legs were fully decked out in similar red armor while a gold sash around his waist fell behind his legs.

His short blond hair was spiked straight up, his black eyes looked to the messenger, his natural expression was one of strength, though with the slightest alteration it became fierce and strict.

“Who are the delegates?”

“The one in lead claims to be an old…friend? He presents himself as Head Commander Neteau of the Thyremog Guard.”

“Neteau?”

Lyger looked to his brother the King: Yuuten. His hair was pulled back in contrast to his brother’s though he had the same black eyes. He wore belt bound leather armor over his upper body, topped by a plate while his legs were similarly armed like his brother, though less thick in comparison. He also had the same mythril around his arms.

Lyger shook his head “Yuuten, Thyremog has not visited for nearly a year!”

“Seven months should hardly be considered ‘nearly a year’ and they most likely had a good reason for it. Let them in.”

As the messenger turned away Yuuten looked to his Bishop “Looks like you’ll get to meet our old friends after all.”

“Are you sure they’re still friends? Lyger’s not wrong.”

Lyger pointed at him “That’s why we he’s here, the only one who sees things my way.”

Yuuten rolled his eyes “You see everything for the worst possible threat it can be.”

“Yes and we’re still alive because of it! Right Wyre?”

The Bishop: Wyre Reh bowed “Yes sir.” Compared to the more grizzled in their age King and Rook, the Bishop was a young man, he wore a robe folded in itself over his chest. The portion on top through which his right arm came through was a brown color with golden, lightning bolt style trims while the latter half beneath it and over his left arm was a bright red with straight orange trims. His orange gloved hands folded behind his back on which his golden cape rested.

His lower body was covered by the same brown robes that comprised part of his robe and led to his gray shoes.

His hair as bright as the lightning he can call upon hung in front of his face and came up in several spikes before it ended, falling behind his neck.

As Yuuten sighed he gestured around “Knight. Queen. Where did they go?”

Wyre was about to speak when the doors opened again and the strangers walked in.

Despite his initial skepticism, Lyger was the first to clear the room and embrace Neteau “Commander! You old bastard! It’s been too long!”

“Lyger! I’d appreciate it if you released me, I’m not quite cut out for these death grips you call hugs anymore.”

The Rook pulled away and laughed “Indeed you aren’t. What do you know Yuuten, Wyre, it is him.”

Yuuten brought an open hand to his face as Wyre chuckled before looking to the others “And…all of you are?”

The one in the lead with blue hair bowed slightly “My name is Ike, this is my deputy Titania, sister Mist and close friend Ranulf. We are Emissaries from Tellius.”

Yuuten raised an eyebrow as he sat “Tellius?”

Neteau broke in at that point “Yes, Tellius it is a large land, much bigger than our Thyremog located about a week and a half or so to the east. King Lytros is taking a small crew there now to establish relations.”

Lyger nodded “Well. Would you look at that? New friends! You are friends, correct?”

“We would like to be.” Titania stated.

“As good as this all is, it is odd that after such a long silence you just…appear again. What happened in Thyremog?” Wyre asked.

Neteau looked to the younger man “You are the Bishop of the Five Pieces?”

“Yes, became the new Bishop a short while back after Tallnit retired.”

Neteau nodded “Good to meet you then.”

“Likewise.”

The old soldier cleared his throat “Well, as for Thyremog. What happened is…”

* * *

_Major Port City Wisin_

“So how will we know where the underground duels take place?” Zihark asked to which Leah sighed.

“I’m not entirely sure…but would be contestants let the Sharks know without speaking. The Sharks then find a way to discreetly give you the information be it dropping a note somewhere or just bumping into you and putting it in your pocket. It’s not like we can just wave our hands and call out we want to do some illegal activities.”

Soren nodded “Well…we all have swords, keep them visible and let’s go around. Suffice to say we look like the kinds of people a betting man would bet on.”

Leah nodded then looked to Mia “She doesn’t.”

“What was that?”

Leah shook his head “No! No! I didn’t mean it that way! It’s just…the fact is there are almost no women involved in the underground…Sharks don’t look to them!”

Mia rolled her eyes “That’s bullshit!”

Soren put a hand on her shoulder “Mia, we know you are the best among us, just because some strangers don’t…well, it doesn’t mean anything.”

Mia sighed “I know…but it still…”

Zihark clapped his hands “Well, we’re going off to act like inconspicuous badasses…though to be fair, Soren, you don’t look like a badass sword master.”

“And I still have many lessons to take. You and Leah will have to do.”

Mia snapped her fingers “Soren! You and I should go look for the port guys while Zihark and Leah handle this end!”

Zihark nodded as he walked away, Leah going in a different direction, the Daein spoke “Excellent idea!”

At that moment, what Uhnie said came back to Soren “You two should stick together.”

Leah came to a halt “We’d cover more ground this way.”

“Yeah Soren.” Mia commented.

After a short silence the mage spoke up “What if a Shark catches the two of you together and determines you’re both a good bet? Together you’d draw more attention.”

Zihark and Leah looked to each other with the latter nodding “I suppose.”

Zihark grinned “Someone has to elbow you when your hands start shaking again.”

Leah nodded, subconsciously bringing his hands together to stop any trembling “That would help, yes.”

“Well we have our pairs, Soren. Mia. Good luck!” With that Zihark gestured for Leah to follow him, though not before winking towards the other pair.

Mia looked at Soren “Are you alright?”

“Hm?”

“I don’t know…your plan just…you sounded a little desperate to keep them together.”

Soren was about to say something but stopped himself _“Don’t lie.”_

“Mia…I’ll tell you as we walk, c’mon.”

* * *

_Centra Stronghold_

“Hm. Sounds like you all had the rough go of it.” Lyger stated as he sat down.

Wyre nodded “And this act of smuggling you were talking about…that doesn’t sit right with me…”

“Believe me, it hasn’t sat right with us since it happened.” Neteau said “Would it be too much to ask for a seat, I’m not as limber as I once was.”

Ranulf scoffed “He was at the front lines with the best of us during the battle.”

Yuuten stood and went to retrieve a seat as the door opened and an older woman walked in.

“I heard Neteau was here.”

He turned “Miina?”

She walked over to him with a smile “In the flesh, unlike Tallnit and Wyton I have no desire of retiring from this fine troupe.”

As Yuuten set down a chair and Neteau sat he looked to the Queen “Wyton retired as well?”

Lyger nodded “We have a new Knight, he hits like a group of stampeding horses. By the way Miina, you just missed the whole story as to where they’ve been.”

“You can fill me in later.”

The Queen: Miina Nil wore a long scarlet dress tied at the waist with a brilliant blue sash. Her hair was tied into a long red ponytail that fell down her back. The light in her green eyes was soft showing she was at the very least a gentle person compared to Yuuten’s business, Lyger’s hotheadedness and Wyre’s inquisitiveness.

Sitting again Yuuten gestured to Ike “So. Emissaries. What do you hope to do here?”

“Well. Lytros asked us to investigate the smuggle. Three of my comrades and a local they met are in Wisin right now trying to find the ship and crew captains of the last ship from Thyremog that came here seven months ago to see if they know anything.”

Yuuten nodded “I have a man of my own conducting an investigation in Wisin, not for the smuggle but I should send word to him to help your people if he meets them.”

“Your Knight?”

The King smiled “Indeed. You should never just let that piece stand can collect dust, it is the most strategic, at least in my opinion.”

Wyre snapped his fingers “We do have another issue we might benefit from more aid in.”

Lyger looked to the Bishop “We can handle that issue.”

“No offense Rook but you’ve been saying that since it became an issue and its still not handled.”

As Lyger called back Ranulf leaned over to Ike “Should he be speaking to him that way?”

Mist laughed “Did you not listen to anything Neteau said? They’re all on equal ground.”

“They can bitch to each other as much as they want.” The pair looked to Titania who raised an eyebrow “What? Those were Neteau’s exact words.”

“She’s right.” The old soldier said.

* * *

_Major Port City Wisin_

“Those two? Yeah saw them four days ago.”

“And?”

“And not since then. I figured they moved or are in the middle of something.”

“Alright. Thanks.”

Shaking his head the man walked away, running a hand through his silver hair. Everything about the man was silver, his armor was very reflective in the sunlight, his white cape, pale eyes. Beneath it all he wore a dark blue vest and leggings. Though his skin was also pale he carried himself with such purpose, he gave off the impression of a man who was anything but weak or sick.

He came to a halt as two people walked by, talking amongst themselves.

For some reason they struck him as…odd…so he followed them.

* * *

“Leah…you have to stop looking at every single person, any Sharks we pass will be scared off by you.”

“Sorry. Just-“

“Nervous? I’m well aware.”

Leah shook his head “I don’t mean to be-“

“I know. But you are. And that’s fine. Honestly I’m from a world where people took things in far too great a stride sometimes. You are looking for your brother to possibly challenge him in a duel to the death. You should be nervous.”

Leah breathed out “But I wish I wasn’t. I look at you. Soren. Mia. So confident.”

Zihark shook his head “Those two lack confidence where it counts.”

Leah tilted his head “What do you mean?”

“Soren and Mia excel in battle, they’re unstoppable and they trust each other with their lives. In a combat situation they act as one, they’ve never lost a battle while they were at each other’s side. When the battle ends though, that’s when they can no longer truly express themselves.”

Leah shook his head “I’m not sure I understand.”

“Leah. I know you’ve only been around a bit but you have to have seen the way they look at each other.”

Leah looked straight ahead and thought back “They do…stare a lot…oh!”

Zihark nodded “Yeah. Neither of them can force the words out though so they’re stuck in this dance around it.”

Leah smiled “So they’re…just people.”

“We’re all people.”

“From what you’ve told me, you all seem so…superhuman. Fighting all your lives, killing to survive, traveling to new lands.”

“At the end of the day, if you cut me I bleed. No amount of skill make me any more or less human than you…the same goes for you and your brother, you are human. When the fight does come it’ll be fair.”

Leah shook his head “I’m not sure.”

Zihark put an arm around him “Hey. The Sharks don’t pull in the combatants for a battle this very night, they have to set it up. How many days we wind up having, we’ll train you. You _will_ be ready.”

Leah smirked “Thanks. You. Mia. Soren. You really just…took me under your wings eh?”

Zihark laughed “Yeah…Mia loves meeting new practitioners of the blade to expand her roster. I think there is something inside you that you have yet to see and Soren…well…you’ll have to chat with him yourself, I most definitely can NOT speak for that man.”

“Well…thank you, Zihark.”

“Don’t mention it and please, call me Z.”

* * *

“Uhnie said that.”

“Yeah.”

“We should tell Leah and Z! They could be-“

Soren shook his head “Uhnie specifically said that whatever it was, was focused on me.”

“Well if they want you they’ll have to go through me, you’re my partner, nothing is getting to you.”

Soren nodded “I believe it…let’s try here. Excuse me.”

A dock worker turned, he was a bit older than the others they passed, hopefully he knew something.

“Gahnzo and Tohgum? Thyremog? Hmm…that was a bit ago…I’m fairly sure the two sold their ship, let the crew go and settled in the Fish Alley, go down that way, the signs are…well fish shaped. Lots of it goes through those roads to and from the ports.”

Soren nodded “Thank you very much.”

 _“Soren. Someone is following us.”_ Hearing Mia’s whisper, Soren maintained himself and started walking in the direction the man gestured.

_“Really?”_

_“Yeah…I’ve felt like something was on us for a bit…while you were chatting with that man I bent over to stretch, saw him come to a halt a few feet back. Rather rigidly. Might it be-“_

Soren shook his head “I don’t think so…but…maybe…”

“Should we turn down an alley and lose him?”

Soren ran all the possibilities. If this man was what caused Uhnie to look at him in such a way, he should definitely take no chances. Even worse this could be someone looking to silence Gahnzo and Tohgum for whatever reason.

“Now.”

Together the pair shot down an alley, the man ran after them, sure enough said alley was vacant.

Closing his eyes he breathed in deeply, bending down he shot into the air and landed on the roof in front of Soren and Mia, who came to a halt and drew their weapons.

The man pulled out his Silver Spear “Who are you?”

“Who are we? Who are you? Why are you following us?” Soren called. He noted Mia moving in front of him defensively.

“Don’t try anything.” She hissed, Soren was a bit surprised at how angry she sounded.

“Answer my question then.”

“Answer ours!” Soren yelled.

Moving forward the man was met by Mia, her blade striking his lance with force, pushing him back. Instead of reeling back, he moved with his weapon, spinning around the weapon turning his reeling into a strike, embedding his spear into the roof, narrowly missing Mia as she flipped away.

Ripping the lance out he charged her, stabbing forward as she jumped over him. Hit boot slid across the ground as he stopped himself and jerked his arm back. Seeing this Mia tried to cross her arms to block the incoming spear’s hilt but it was too quick, ramming into her chest and throwing her to the ground.

Now it was Soren’s turn to feel the anger, whipping up a gale he grabbed the man, lifted him into the air and slammed him into the roof before throwing him thought a window and into the next building.

Running over he helped Mia up “Are you alright?”

She coughed “Yeah…damn, he’s fast.”

The pair turned as the man landed on the roof again.

Soren clenched his fists “You are making the last mistake you ever will.”

The man smirked “Prove it then.”

* * *

_Centra Stronghold_

Yuuten gestured everyone to the dining hall for more comfortable accommodations.

“Food?”

“We don’t want to impose.” Mist answered.

“But I’m starving.” Ranulf answered.

Yuuten called a chef over and spoke quickly before looking back to Ranulf “This has been bugging me…you have ears and a tail yes? Everyone can see it?”

The other Pieces nodded before Ranulf started chuckling “Yes I do have ears and a tail. I’m a Laguz. A species from Tellius that can shift from our Tribe appearance into various beasts.”

“He turns into a giant blue cat.” Ike stated.

Lyger laughed “A cat!? Truly a terrifying beast!”

Ranulf shrugged “Hey, I let my actions speak for me. I fought against some of the most powerful people in my country.”

Titania put a hand on his shoulder “And got tossed aside by them.”

“At least I fought them! You clashed with none of them!”

Now it was Titania’s turn to laugh “I wasn’t trying to offend you Ranulf.

“So. Wyre right?”

“Wyre Reh. Yes.”

Ike nodded “What is the issue you and Lyger were yelling to each other about?”

Wyre Reh looked at Lyger and Yuuten, the former rolled his eyes while the latter nodded. He then turned to Miina who nodded as well before facing Ike.

“A fiendish cult has formed in our midst.”

“A…cult?” Ike looked to Titania “That’s new.”

As she nodded Wyre continued “These…people-“

“Call them what they are! Things!” Lyger yelled.

“These things. They hunt at night, kidnapping people…we thought it to be the resurrection of the Shark Rows in the various undergrounds but most of those have been closed if not all of them, most of the Sharks are in prison or dead. For a while disappearances of young men ceased…and then they returned…along with women…the elderly, children and…”

Wyre tried to continue but couldn’t, Miina spoke up “Babies.”

The mood in the room dropped considerably, the rage, anger and fury was not only in Lyger’s eyes anymore.

“Why?” Was all Ike could allow himself to say.

Wyre shook his head “If only we knew…the cult is…quiet, they commit these atrocities in the dead of night, the few times our patrols have come close they…take off into the sky. They fly away.”

Mist tilted her head “They can fly?”

* * *

_Major Port City Wisin_

“Come on just do it!”

Giving in, Leah drew Cerulean and charged Zihark who pulled out his Killing Edge in a flash, the weapons clashed.

Zihark smirked as he broke Leah’s guard and kicked him to the ground.

“I’ve got quite the moves eh?” He beckoned to the few people who stopped walking to watch this…performance?

Standing Leah yelled and charged, Zihark tripped him “C’mon man!”

Rolling over and sweeping his leg, he caught nothing as Zihark leapt away. Springing to his feet, Leah charged again, his blue blade leaving a trail as it struck Zihark’s Killing Edge, flipping around he tried to go for Zihark’s other side but a slight sword adjustment stopped that attack as well.

Zihark then kneed Leah in the stomach before leaping and kicking him away, gesturing to the crowd “Cool eh?”

There were a few cheers and some whistles.

“Zihark…you’re being a little more rough than I was…expecting.”

“Trial by fire kid. Trial by fire.”

* * *

Soren rolled across the ground, spear narrowly missing him. He noted the stranger almost flew at him, barely touching the roof.

Mia leapt in and caught his spear giving Soren the chance to unleash a close range Elwind into the man’s armored chest, pushing him a few feet away.

Spinning his spear he leapt over them, Mia shot up to meet him, weapons striking, this time though the force behind his spear was more than Mia was expecting, she lost her grip on her Wo Dao.

Landing he spun his spear and she began dodging it to the best of her abilities as Soren conjured up several sharp Arcwind gales all around the stranger.

Noting them, he jumped back as Soren sent them in. Spinning his spear he stabbed it into each consecutive gale, breaking them then shooting forward to step on Mia’s Wo Dao before she could pick it up.

Jumping away she felt a cut and landed on the roof on her back.

Soren kneeled down next to her to see the gash across her abdomen. “This guy…isn’t normal.”

He kicked the Wo Dao away and smirked. Soren helped Mia up and gave her his iron sword “When we’re together. We’re invincible.”

Mia nodded “We are.”

Soren pulled out a tome and closed his eyes, the air around them shifted to a green as Mia shot forward, with all her might she swung her blade, clashing repeatedly with the man’s spear. As much as her muscles ached to hit the stout weapon with so much force behind it she kept it up.

Finally a gale pulled her away, the man tried to move forward but the air around him whipped around into a hurricane. He was taken into the sky, and twisted about as Mia waited for him to fall helplessly to the ground.

The hurricane finally broke, but he didn’t fall.

Still in the air he was gripping his side and breathing hard before spitting.

Mia looked at him oddly then to Soren then back.

“He can fly?”

* * *

_Centra Stronghold_

As they ate, Lyger shook his head “Flying…things…you can imagine why we have such a hard time dealing with them and with their ‘would hurt a child’ personalities. Our soldiers find it risky as well, many are worried they’ll go out to defend the peace and come home to an empty house…”

“It’s already happened.” Wyre muttered “My girlfriend, Shae…her brother was taken by them…I shot the creature with my magic and it dropped him…broken neck, died on impact.”

Ike closed his eyes as Titania spoke “I’m…so sorry.”

“She…she tells me I tried my best but I feel like such a failure.”

“What’s worse.” Miina started “They don’t broadcast their intentions, they don’t want the Hitenticul Crown like most generic would be rulers…and unlike that rat Jilger they show no interest in leaving Hitenticul. Though that is a blessing in disguise, we wouldn’t wish child stealing creatures on anyone.”

Ike crossed his arms “I understand…but how can we stop them if we don’t even know who they are?”

Wyre raised an eyebrow “We?”

Titania nodded “We are here to make an impression…and given what you all told us, its impossible for us to just ignore this threat.”

Mist let out a heavy sigh “But it really sounds like you guys don’t have a lot to go on.”

Ranulf agreed “There has to be some way though, right?”

Yuuten put down his utensils and nodded “There is…I have a source…he’s been able to tell me a little about this group, their name, the fact that they drink the blood of their victims but not much else.”

Lyger scoffed “Yeah, this source is apparently so important Yuuten won’t let any of the other Pieces meet him.”

"They drink blood?" Titania shook her head "They are insane."

Yuuten nodded before looking to Lyger "As for my source there are very good reasons as to why you can't meet him. I trust his word…but his information on the cult is compromised by his own mental state in regards to them…it comes back in flashes and we can’t wait for the flash of where exactly they are.”

“An escaped victim?” Ranulf asked.

“Basically.”

“So who are they? What’s this cult’s name?”

Looking to Ike, Yuuten spoke “The Order of Rein.”


	21. Forward and Backward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Investigations continue as Ike and his Mercenaries determine their next steps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm planning a Q&A in the future, if you have a question, or two or fifty you want to ask me, just...is there a messaging system on AO3? No clue...well if there isn't just put them down in the comments and I'll jot them down to answer in a video on my YT channel, and if you have none, feel free to watch the video when it goes up some time next week.

**Chapter 20 - Forward and Backward**

_Major Port City, Wisin_

“I give man! I give!” Leah yelled after being thrown to the ground on his back again.

The crowd cheered, some giving Zihark some money as he walked away, some people muttering “Quite the performance!”

“Were they doing it with real swords?”

“Doubt it they wouldn’t kill each other.”

Zihark helped Leah up “Well guess that plan blew.”

“We should find Soren, my back needs it.”

As Leah stumbled away to retrieve his fallen blade a man brushed past Zihark and muttered a low “Sorry.”

As he waved it off he noted something odd and reached into his pocket.

“Nailed it.”

Sheathing Cerulean, Leah turned “What?”

Zihark waved the paper “Got the invite!”

As the Trueblade smirked Leah shook his head “It’s…very odd seeing you like this.”

“Hm? Why?”

“Just…the story you told. Most people would be broken by such a thing but here you are able to smile and…it’s honestly quite amazing. I don’t think…I know I can’t take any of that and keep going. Just look at me.”

Zihark put the note away and approached the other man, putting a hand on his shoulder “Leah. Trials like why you and I have gone through happen to nearly everyone and everyone responds in different ways. Some see the world for what it is, its injustices, its secrets and decide they want to change that. Make it right.”

“Like you?”

The Trueblade nodded as the pair started walking “Nymie told me to protect them and that’s what I did, the way Tellius is now I see no fear in the Laguz’ future in anyone’s future…but beyond that I wish to protect people from the elements that conspire against them.”

Zihark gestured to Leah’s blade “On the other hand some people see the evils this world produces and it breaks their faith. Their hope. The fact that the world can allow such people and events to be birthed. The years and years of Laguz slavery, the hunting of the Branded…the people of Tellius let that happen but they recovered, as long as it took. Your brother turned out to be anything but the loving older sibling. His desires are all written in blood and he sees no true value in family, in people. If I had a brother like that I’m not sure what I’d do so I don’t blame you for being as lost as you are.”

The pair stopped with Leah clenching his fists “I blame myself…the things he did, the things he’s probably doing now are wrong…there is only one correct answer. He needs to…to be stopped.”

“That is true but he is your brother. Your blood.”

Leah sighed “I wish I had your strength. Mia and Soren are most likely the same, they grew stronger because of what they went through whereas I retreated inside, hid with my parents…ignored Nihil’s crimes and lied for him…Zihark.”

Leah faced the other man “If…if I somehow kill Nihil. What in the world am I supposed to tell my parents?”

Zihark opened his mouth to speak but stopped. He put an arm around the Islander as they resumed walking “I don’t know…but that’s something you have to figure out.”

* * *

Landing the stranger spat again “You two are skilled…”

“Yeah and we’re also busy, we’d appreciate it if you stopped harassing us!” Mia yelled.

“Can’t do that…you may be after our land’s peace.”

Soren rolled his eyes “Do we look like that? We’re foreigners I’ll give you that but we are here on business from Thyremog. King Lytros asked us for help.”

The man raised an eyebrow “Lytros? With what?”

Soren and Mia looked to each other with the latter opening her mouth only to grip her side.

Alarmed Soren took out his staff and started healing her “I’m so sorry. I forgot.”

“It’s alright, this is nothing…”

“It’s something to me.”

“…what?”

Soren shook his head “Nothing.” Finished with her wound he stood up “Better now?”

“Much…thank you.”

The stranger put his spear away and sighed “Seems I made a rather hasty and vastly incorrect judgement call.”

“How so?”

“From what I know of the people I’m after they only work together because its convenient, because their aim is…so important. They care nothing for each other as allies, not at all evident here.”

Soren nodded “Fine. Then who are you?”

“I still would rather not say…damn it my cover is in shambles…”

At that moment there was a screech, a hawk shot past the stranger, he snatched a note out of its claws and opened it.

His eyes moved up to Soren and Mia. Sighing he shook his head “Soren? Mia?”

The pair looked to each other then back again with Mia nodded “How do you-“

He put the note away “I want you both to do me a favor. I know I have no right to ask for it but please…”

Soren raised an eyebrow as he continued “Do not mention my ability to fly to anyone, alright?”

Mia handed her sword back to Soren “Why?”

“Please.”

Soren gestured to the blade near the man “Mia would like that back.”

Bending down, he picked it up and walked over to them. As he held it out, Mia swung her leg around his and forced him to take a knee while Soren put an arm around his neck.

“Who are you! Tell us before I snap your neck!”

Mia aimed her Wo Dao at his chest “Try something.”

The man didn’t even bother to struggle “My name is Klein Kruse. I’m the Knight of the Five Pieces, I’m here in Wisin to investigate the disappearances of several people in relation to the Order of Rein kidnappings all over the island.”

The two Tellians eyed each other, Soren felt something and looked to see a small piece of paper.

“I just got this from the Stronghold.”

Soren took it.

_“For the Knight of the Five Pieces from the Other Pieces. We are currently being visited by foreigners from a land called Tellius. It has come to our attention that three of them named Soren, a black haired, red eyed mage specializing in wind magic and two sword masters, a purple haired, green eyed woman named Mia and a pale haired man named Zihark are in the midst of an investigation in Wisin. If you come across them, lend them your aid.”_

Nodding to Mia the pair released Klein. Moving back he rubbed his neck “Let my guard down.”

“Oh yeah. Completely.” Mia joked as she sheathed her blade.

“What’s this Order of Rein you mentioned?”

Klein held his hand out as Soren returned the note.

“A group of…creatures kidnapping people from all over Centra. Not entirely sure why.”

“Cover.” Soren tapped his chin “You’re one of them?”

Klein shook his head “No…not anymore. It’s a long story.”

“Soren, we were in the middle of something.”

Soren nodded to Mia and they started walking “Do you need help with your investigation?”

Soren shook his head “We’re fine.”

Klein started to walk away before turning around “I’m sorry!”

* * *

_Centra Stronghold_

Ike stood on a balcony watching the sun set as Titania joined him “So, what’s the plan?”

“This Order of Rein…if everything we’ve been told is true, they are the worst kind of monsters.”

“Then we’re going to help track them down?”

Ike nodded “We should head to Wisin to meet with Soren’s group.”

“What about the group in Heogettr?”

Ike shook his head “No…I don’t want to drag everyone into conflict again.”

Titania put a hand on Ike’s shoulder and turned him so he was facing her “Ike. They’re not just the Mercenaries who follow your orders. They’re your friends. All of them. Including Shinon.”

He nodded as she continued “We’ll always charge into action for you…and for what it’s worth, even if the day comes where the group separates, for whatever reason. I will never leave your side unless you request that of me.”

Ike chuckled “You don’t have to tie your life to mine like you did with my father, Titania. You’re allowed to-“

“Ike. I’m not here out of some sense of obligation to Greil. I’m here because I want to be…and we’re combat partners. Remember?”

He smiled as she took her hand off his shoulder “Of course…alright then. We’ve got to head to Wisin and get word to Heogettr…let’s at least let them know something is up before asking them to join us.”

“Good. I’ll request that from the Heitnaro brothers…do you know where Shinon and Uhnie took off to?”

Ike shook his head “No. But what Uhnie told us. The way she told us…”

“If she saw a member of the Order of Rein we now know for whatever reason they’ve taken interest in Soren. Mia and Zihark are with them as is this Klein Kruse assuming he got the note but still.”

“Let’s go. Better to be safe than sorry.”

* * *

_Major Port City, Wisin_

“Gahnzo and Tohgum? Hmm…yeah, Gahnzo lives three houses down. Nice man, haven’t heard much from him lately. As for Tohgum I think he moved out, not sure to where…sorry.”

Soren and Mia thanked the woman before walking for the home.

“You know that Klein guy is still following us.”

Soren nodded “Let him follow as long as he doesn’t attack you again.”

“Yeah…wait…you mean us right?”

“Hm?”

Looking away Mia shook her head, smiling “Never mind.”

Knocking on the door Soren called out “Gahnzo. Gahnzo of Thyremog are you there?”

Turning the knob he found the door open.

Mia gripped her hilt as Soren entered the home, the living area was well kept. Too well kept.

Soren looked in the kitchen as Mia headed for the stairs “This place looks like no one has touched anything in far too long.”

Soren nodded “Yeah…far too neat.”

Seeing something sparkle, Soren headed towards a window, upon closer inspection the window was not there, in fact it was shattered, bits of it all over the yard outside.

“What the…”

Turning he heard Mia curse from above “You okay?”

“Yeah just hit my leg on this couch. This guy put it in the wrong spot.”

Nodding to himself he continued looking around. The home was spotless, everything was neat. Which made the fact that a single picture on the wall was hanging at an odd angle, fairly noticeable.

Taking it down he found a dent in the wall.

“Soren!”

Upstairs in a few seconds he opened his mouth to speak only to see what Mia was looking at. In the closet was a rather old corpse, throat slit open.

“There were signs of a struggle down stairs, anything here?”

Mia looked about, eyes landing on the couch, pushing it out of the way the two were now staring at old bloodstains.

“Klein!” Soren yelled.

The man was with them in a few moments, looking at what they found he shook his head “Shit.”

* * *

“So where is the meeting anyway?”

Zihark took the note out “Two days from now at an old fish house…fish house?”

“That’s where a lot of fish is unloaded obviously they are still using abandoned buildings…just like before…”

Zihark struck the other man I the back “It’ll be fine. When the time comes just follow me and stay out of sight when I get there. I’ll keep my ears open on the inside for any mention of the Skewer.”

Leah looked up at the dusky sky “Should Soren and Mia be on their way back?”

Zihark sighed “We should’ve had an agreed upon time. We’ll just wait at the same inn…or we can train!”

“Huh?”

“Two days. We’re going to make you a true master of the sword! A True Blade!”

“True…blade?”

Zihark nodded “Just like Mia and I. Now come on. We can’t waste any time!”

The man took off towards their inn with Leah close behind, the former calling back “On the way, tell me everything you learned from your teacher! Give me a base to work on!”

Leah nodded “A-alright, thanks Zihark.”

“No problem and seriously. Z is fine.”

* * *

“This is where I get off.”

Ike nodded to Neteau “Thanks for your help.”

They shook hands “I still need to pay Zaya a visit. After that I’ll be heading back to the port and returning to Thyremog. Much has to be done.”

“What of the trade?”

Neteau smiled “Lyger and Yuuten are taking care of that, three ships for now…I can’t wait to see Thyremog regain its footing.”

“Good luck Neteau.”

The old soldier bowed “May we meet again…”

As he left another man approached “Ike.”

“Wyre.”

“I would like to go with you to Wisin.”

“You? Any reason?”

He nodded “Any time an Order of Rein member was encountered we couldn’t stop it. My lightning was the only time anyone was able to strike one. I won’t let them escape this time.”

Ike nodded “Very well.”

“I just need to have a word with Shae about all this. Tell her where I’m going. Then I’ll be right with you when we leave.”

“Where do you two live?”

“In the city, northern portion…why?”

“I have something that might come in handy for you so, I’ll head over and give it to you while you’re there.”

“Very well. Thank you.”

Bowing Wyre walked off as Ike joined Ranulf and Mist who were waiting for him with his sister asking “What do you think these…things are like?”

“I don’t know…but it’s as they say. The worst monsters are people.”

Ranulf sighed “That’s pretty harsh.”

“But true. Ashnard, for his evil deeds was just a man. The Senators of Begnion were the same…whoever these cultists are, we’ll stop them as we’ve stopped everyone before.”

* * *

_Major Port City, Wisin_

“What are you two doing? There is a dead man here, the city guard-“

“We need to find Tohgum now more than ever. Whoever killed Gahnzo…there is a great chance that they aren’t done.”

Mia continued for Soren “This has to be about the smuggle. Maybe whoever was taken from Thyremog and brought here knew that Gahnzo and Tohgum knew something or maybe just decided to kill them as a precaution.”

Soren closed a drawer and opened another “There was a whole crew, there must be a form with who they are and where they went.”

Klein snapped his fingers “The city center will have all those transcripts. How long ago was the smuggle?”

“Seven months ago.” Soren answered as the three exited the home with Klein leading the way to the city center.

“Then those reports will be in the back room, we’ll have a list of names of the crew and we can run that with the housing breakdowns to see how many are still in Wisin and where.”

“Thanks for your help, Kruse!”

“I really am sorry for that misunderstanding.”

“Now is not the time!” Soren demanded as the three continued on their way.

* * *

_Elsewhere_

“Joker.”

Hearing his designation, Kanahana stood “Yes Ace…”

“Are you prepared?”

He bowed “More than ever.”

“Who are you taking with you?”

Kanahana looked to the others then back to Ace “Master Ulyus, I would like to request some of our lessers to come with me.”

The Ace, Ulyus narrowed his eyes “Why?”

Kanahana smirked “We need to see what he is capable of, if we go in there blind we could very well get killed. This way our second assault will be much more efficient.”

Ulyus crossed his arms “Do you think they’ll give us the opportunity for a second assault?”

“We’ll make one…Jack is there something you want to say?”

The Jack was standing “Master Ulyus, we should just all go now, if what we’ve been told is true, the Ultimatum-“

“Jack.”

Kneeling back down the Jack nodded “Yes Master.”

“Very well Kanahana, take the lessers and evaluate this man, see if he is worthy of our time.”

“Thank you Ace.”

Turning Kanahana walked out of the room with the Jack still watching him.

* * *

_Major Port City, Wisin_

“Tearing through books again, this is going to become our thing isn’t it?” Mia commented.

Soren couldn’t help but chuckle “Hopefully not…”

“Here!” The two approached Klein as he opened his file “This ship came with Gahnzo, Tohgum and at least 13 crew members. These are their names, we just need to match these to housing and see who still lives here, hopefully they all haven’t been killed.”

Soren crossed his arms “It’s not the Order your after and can’t be the Sharks we came looking for…just how much is really going on here in Hitenticul?”

Klein shook his head “I wish I knew. Either way, follow me.”

* * *

Leah fell back down, dropping Cerulean as Zihark smirked “Now what did you do wrong there?”

“Everything.”

“C’mon Leah! Confidence! You can do this!”

Leah looked up to the darkening orange sky “It’s getting pretty late…”

Zihark nodded “Not late enough to turn in! C’mon pick up your blade and let’s keep going! You have to sure you are ready for when the time comes to see your brother again, right?”

Standing Leah sighed “Yeah…”

Gripping Cerulean tighter he nodded to himself “I do.”

As they continued Zihark let his thoughts go to Soren and Mia, what could be keeping them away? Did they figure out something new about the smuggle? Were they fighting the smugglers right now? Were they alright?”

Feeling his sword leave his hands, he watched it land on the ground before looking to a shocked Leah “Well done.”

“Not really…you seemed really distracted.”

Zihark picked up his Killing Edge “I was…but in real battles there is nothing wrong with taking advantage of that.”

“Should we go look for Soren and Mia?”

“Hm?”

“It’s obvious you’re worried, instead of waiting for them we should go find them.”

Zihark smiled “It is obvious isn’t it?”

Leah sheathed his blade as Zihark did the same with the former saying “Then let’s go.”

* * *

_Capital of Unitt_

“Promise me you’ll be alright, Wyre.”

He nodded “Don’t worry about me Shae. Everything will be fine.”

“These…things…all that they’ve done. I think I have a right to worry.”

Wyre smiled to himself “I won’t be alone.”

“The new allies?”

Wyre followed Shae’s gesture to see Ike approaching, the man waved as Wyre smirked before looking back at Shae.

“They’re strong. That is obvious to anyone. When it comes down to it we will defeat this Order of Rein and everything will return to normal.”

She kissed the Bishop before embracing him “Alright. Come home soon.”

Nodding he turned and approached Ike “You know you don’t have to throw yourself in harm’s way, Wyre.”

“No I definitely do, not just for her but for all the people who are losing loved ones in the night to monsters.”

Ike looked to the sky “By the time we get to Wisin it’ll be pretty late.”

“Klein will take your people to his rest, we’ll meet with them there and plan out from that point.”

“The message to Heogettr?”

Wyre nodded “Sent out. Your other allies will be tracked down and handed to message they will be aware of what’s going on…are you sure that you shouldn’t tell them to meet you?”

Ike shook his head “I have the sneaking suspicion there is more going on and whatever happens in Wisin won’t be the end of it.”

Wyre agreed, before noting Ike hold out a tome “I take it this is what you hinted at.”

“Yes, this is Arcthunder, a spell from Tellius, one of the best in your profession.”

Wyre took it and thanked Ike “I have my own but…I can feel the power in this one. Thank you.”

The pair began heading out with Ike nodding “Don’t mention it, you said your magic was nearly able to stop one, I figure we’ll stack the odds with you.”

Wyre chuckled “Indeed.”

* * *

_Major Port City, Wisin_

Zihark came to a sudden stop, Leah almost walked into his back “Zihark?”

He held a hand up.

Drawing his blade in a flash he got down as several men in black robes wielding blades dropped in front of them.

“Who are you?” He demanded as Leah pulled out his own blade.

“We want him.” The lead one pointed at Leah.

“Sharks?”

Not responding the group charged Leah and Zihark, countering the attacks, Leah leapt over them, giving Zihark room to spin about, knocking several weapons away and scratching one of the men.

“I already have my invite, the thing isn’t for two more days, what are you doing?”

“This isn’t about you!” One said drawing a second blade and charging Zihark while the others focused on Leah.

Zihark could see that Leah was focusing on keeping them away, not fighting against them.

Twisting and breaking the arm of his assailant, Zihark forced him to a knee and stabbed him “Kill them Leah!”

Leah shook his head “I can’t!”

Releasing the dead body, Zihark was cut off by another pair landing near him. He quickly moved away, their swords cutting through the air harmlessly. Growling he charged back, leaping and kicking one man aside, before landing and rolling beneath the second blade.

Springing to his feet he turned and slashed the first man across the back before kicking the second to the ground.

“Too many!” He heard Leah called before kneeling down and stabbing the fallen man in the back.

The other turned as Zihark stood to him “What is the meaning of this?”

“It does not concern you!” Locking blades with the assailant again he cursed, the men after Leah were also not aiming to kill but he could barely make the orange man out against the night sky and the multitude of black robes.

It was only then that Zihark noted the road was empty and cursed. He walked right into the ambush and realized it far too late.

_“Soren’s going to chew me out so bad!”_

Breaking away he stabbed his opponent in the chest and kicked him off his blade before turning. Two more men charged him while the others ran off dragging a limp Leah.

“No! Get back here!”

Attempting to strike his two new opponents they jumped out of the way and leapt onto a roof before taking off.

Turning to the last injured man he kneeled in front of him “Where are they taking him!?”

The man spat blood on Zihark’s face before falling limp.

Cursing he looked in the direction Leah was taken _“Damn it I can’t do this alone.”_

Quickly he took off hoping to find Soren and Mia as soon as possible.

* * *

Meeting at an intersection Klein shook his head “Signs of a struggle, no body.”

Soren cursed “Same where I went.”

Mia nodded “Me too.”

Soren kicked a stone down the street. The three were visiting the homes of the last Thyremog crew and all the homes were empty, the men were most likely killed and taken away. Whoever killed Gahnzo did a sloppier job leaving the body behind, no such luck with the others.

“And Tohgum’s home was trashed but it was more like they were looking for him. Something tells me he’s out there somewhere, hiding.” Klein commented as Mia nodded.

“We have two houses left, though I have a feeling the end result will be the same.”

Soren clenched his fists “The smuggle was seven months ago, of course they’ve gotten around to clearing their tracks. Though this may indicate the people are still on Hitenticul, specifically still on Centra.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

The two looked at him with Mia asking “What do you mean?”

“We’ve made contact with a few other lands about four months ago. Vessels have been going to and from these locations. There is a chance they left.”

Soren cursed again “So this was all pointless?”

Before Klein could answer Zihark appeared “Soren! Mia! We’ve got trouble!”

They looked up as he continued “Strangers, probably Sharks jumped Leah and I, they took him!”

“Sharks?” Klein stated “Really?”

“They have to be!” Zihark yelled before noting the stranger.

Mia spoke up “Where did they take him?”

Zihark pulled out his note “I got this from a Shark earlier today, maybe they took him here.”

Soren took it “Then we’ve got to go…I have a feeling his brother set this all up.”

The sage turned to Klein “You coming?”

The man nodded “I take it we’ll deal with the smuggle later?”

As they ran ahead Soren spoke “We’re going to have to.”

“In the meantime Soren, we need a plan.”

The sage nodded to Zihark and began brainstorming before smirking “Got it.”

* * *

_Sharks Row_

Leah shook his head, he was so busy with the men in front of him, he didn’t notice one drop behind him until they struck him with the hilt of their weapon.

“He’s up.”

Slowly opening his eyes he spotted all the men in black with blades.

As he focused his vision they moved aside as another approached, in blue.

He kneeled down in front of him, once Leah focused he saw the face.

“Nihil.”

“Hey bro…good to see you.”


	22. Sharks and Rein

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leah comes face to face with Nihil as all hell breaks loose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Q&A still a thing, any and all questions allowed!  
> PS I plotted out all of Hitenticul!

**Chapter 21 - Sharks and Rein**

_“You were flawless once again! Look at all this!”_

_Turning away from the money the young man spat “It was a sad excuse for a fight.”_

_“Right you are as always Skewer.” Another man commented before sniffing his money and laughing._

_“This whole system. The Sharks Row is just…not as entertaining as it once was.”_

_“Maybe so but we are making a lot of money!”_

_The Skewer nodded “We are…but I don’t care about that. Gather everyone I have an announcement to make.”_

_The Sharks weren’t sure what to think but decided, the Skewer made them all their money, might as well hear him out._

_They all gathered along with their current paychecks. Every fighter had at least one Shark with them while the Skewer had six._

_“I‘ve been fighting for money for years now and I’ve been enjoying it…at least…I thought I did…I have to admit the first kill made me sick. I didn’t like looking at the money but as I continued it felt good. You all here have been in a few fights yes?”_

_The men nodded as the Skewer smiled “I realized that what I really enjoyed, what really got my blood pumping was not the money, but the fights. So what I’m suggesting is we change Sharks Row…forget the money…let us satisfy ourselves.”_

_The Sharks scoffed while the fighters looked to each other, a few nodding._

_“We are warriors, our land has no outlet for our lusts, our desires but we find it with each other when we sink our blades into one another. We crave the blood. Not the money.”_

_One of the Sharks at the Skewer’s side shook his head “What are you saying Skewer?”_

_The Skewer faced him “I’m saying my name is Nihil and I am the real Shark.”_

_In a flash Nihil pulled out Vermilion and killed the six men before turning and nodding, the fighters did the same and in a few seconds all the Sharks lay dead._

_“We are the Sharks now.” Nihil stated, sheathing Vermilion “And we fight for ourselves.”_

* * *

_Sharks Row_

“One thing led to another and here we are…”

Leah narrowed his eyes “But…you said you loved being the Skewer.”

“I did…but the monotony got to me eventually. There was so much more blood out there I couldn’t get to…but now with all the old Sharks’ money we can bring as many people to us and have our way with them.”

Leah looked to all the men in black robes, their faces hidden in their cowls but their shimmering blades visible.

“I had one of my Sharks give your friend that note to make it seem like it was still the old system. Then I had them plan the ambush and prepare everything to bring you to me.”

Nihil stood “You have my Cerulean and I have your Vermilion. The time has come.”

Leah shook his head “No! I’m not-“

“Then why are you here, Leah? If you didn’t come to Wisin for your sword then why?”

Leah stood “I came to talk to you! My brother! Our parents want you home! They want you to visit them! They still love you!”

“So? You want me to throw all this away to go back to Usvale? There has been nothing for me there since you turned me in, my new life is in blood.”

Leah focused on Nihil’s eyes, he saw that the man before him was dead serious. “Nihil. Why?”

“What can I say? Killing someone changes a person. Some become cowards, unable to look at weapons let alone the color red. Others become warriors, capable of fighting for their lives and others. Yet more become Sharks, the kind of warrior that keeps fighting even when peace has rolled in because for them there is nothing else.”

Leah shook his head “I can’t believe that! Nihil-“

“Draw your blade. The time is now.”

Nihil pulled out Vermilion and smiled as the Sharks formed a circle around the pair.

“I’m not going to.”

Nihil nodded “Alright.” Without pause he charged forward, Leah barely managed to dodge the attack, turning as Nihil pursued, Vermilion flashed as it cut through his arm. Nihil leapt and kicked Leah in the back, throwing him to the floor.

Rolling aside, Leah narrowly avoided getting stabbed. Standing he jumped away again as Nihil continued his pursuit, his blade cutting across Leah’s chest.

“Will you really allow me to reclaim Cerulean so easily?”

Leah rolled aside again “Nihil!”

Laughing he charged forward, swinging his blade, cutting across Leah’s arm.

As he continued to back away he kept yelling “We’re brothers! This can’t be it for us! Nihil!”

Stepping forward, Nihil stabbed Leah he sighed as he kicked him off Vermilion.

“This is not what I wanted.” Nihil said shaking his head as Leah tried to stand. Spinning his blade he stabbed it through one of Leah’s legs.

Leah screamed as he gripped the weapon, trying to pull it out, Nihil reached past him and grabbed Cerulean’s hilt “All these years and this is all you give me?”

Leah looked up to Nihil who shook his head “So disappointing. I thought much of you, brother.”

A gale crashed against several Sharks, flooring them as Mia and Zihark leapt through the clearing, rolling across the ground and slashing at Nihil, both striking his back, drawing blood and forcing him away from Leah.

Zihark pulled the blade out of Leah’s leg and tossed it aside “We’re leaving!”

The thirty or so Sharks still standing drew their weapons. Mia shot out to meet them followed by Zihark as Soren landed near Leah and pulled out his staff, healing the man’s leg.

“You alright?”

“Now I am…thank you…”

Soren stood and helped Leah up “We’re not done yet.”

Soren turned as Leah spoke “I can’t. I’ve never killed.”

“You have to!”

A man charged forward, too close. Soren pulled out his blade, stopping the man’s assault before focusing on the book in his other hand. A small gale pushed the man back enough for Soren to stab him in the chest.

As he fell Soren let go of his blade and focused on his book, summoning a whipping gale to keep the Sharks at bay “Leah!”

“I can’t!”

Mia and Zihark flipped past each other, the former knocking a blade away as the latter sheathed his sword in a man’s stomach.

A Shark roared and slashed at Mia, once again demonstrating her speed, evading with ease even as two more pursued her.

Zihark moved away as a sword dug into the ground near him “Big mistake!” Swinging back he struck the Shark down, before flipping away from another pair.

Mia leapt over the three on her and spun around, slicing one across the back before leaping away again as his two allies pursued her. Reaching a wall she leapt on it and kicked off, landing behind her enemies “Hey boys! Over here!”

Angered they swung their weapons at her, stopping all three swords with her blade she whistled. Zihark rolled over and struck one man in the leg as the other two pulled their weapons away from Mia and slashed towards the other man.

Leaping Mia struck down the man clutching his leg, looking to Zihark as more Sharks surrounded him. Smirking she charged in, kicking one to the ground before spinning around and cutting another’s arm. Zihark nodded at her, turning he stopped a blade, Mia slid under his legs, standing up behind his blade locked enemy, she stabbed him.

More Sharks converged on the two as Mia and Zihark nodded to each other and continued to cut them down. Nearby Soren, kept his eyes on the eight standing just out of range of his gale, one tried to move forward only for Soren to strengthen the gale and whip the blade out of his hand before whipping him in the chest, throwing him to the ground.

The sage looked at Leah who was still rooted in place. He couldn’t leave the man and join the fray as much as he wanted to.

Standing Nihil spat and picked up Vermilion. Looking over to the battle he couldn’t help but laugh. Zihark and Mia were practically dancing around his Sharks. Eyes narrowing he licked his lips.

“Blood.”

Focusing on the woman he sneered and charged her “Mia!” Soren called.

Flipping around she stopped Vermilion “You! Aren’t you-“

“A woman? With a sword? What a disgrace!”

Mia narrowed her eyes, rage building inside “What did you say?”

“These aren’t toys dear, put it down before you hurt yourself.”

Clenching her teeth she broke his guard and swung again, slashing him as he jumped away. Fast as lightning she was in his face again, her blade dancing before his eyes, countering it was impossible, he could only focus on blocking.

He spat as he leapt away again only for her to meet him in a flash “Why are you running!?” Screaming she swung her blade again, slicing his leg.

Rolling away he turned around and stopped her blade “Stop running!”

He narrowed his eyes “You…you won’t make a mockery out of me!”

Pushing her back he began swinging at her, still enraged she found it far too easy to dodge his strikes. As their blades struck again she spat “Taunting me because of my gender…you are worse than I imagined! What do you say about it now!?”

“I’m impressed…” Mia felt a smaller blade enter her stomach “But not very.”

Pushing her a way he slashed her again and threw her to the ground.

“Mia!” Soren wanted to go out there but Leah was still incapable of drawing his blade, he’d be in serious danger without the protective gale.

“Z!”

Zihark nodded, killing one more Shark he leapt away from the others and ran towards Mia.

Standing, her eyes found Nihil, he was impressed at the fury in her expression “Those are good eyes. Too bad you weren’t born a man.”

Screaming she stood again, missing him as he slashed through her leg. Zihark landed near them, stabbing Nihil in the back, who yelled and swung around as Zihark leapt away.

Turning back he brought his blade onto Mia, who stopped it with hers. Zihark leapt back in as Nihil pulled out his short sword and stopped Zihark as well.

“You all work very well together, but you let your emotions get in the way. You there. Mage. If you let the barrier fall you can still save your precious little friends.”

Soren narrowed his eyes as Nihil continued “But you won’t because then my Sharks will take Leah again. I do still need to kill him but if this continues any longer I’ll let anyone else gore him. He clearly isn’t a fighter.”

Leah looked down and apologized as Soren cursed.

Mia stood up, pushing Nihil’s blade closer to him “And you, woman. You let your petty emotions ruin your style. If you kept a level head maybe you could be a threat, but as you are now…I know you should never have stepped on the field of battle.”

“Don’t listen to him Mia!” Zihark stated.

There were now a few Sharks surrounding them as well as around Soren “So Sage? What will it be, let my brother die or these people?”

“Soren.”

He looked at Leah and began to speak when the other man whispered _“I know how you feel…about her…it’s alright.”_

Soren’s eyes widened. Looking away he nodded slowly. Closing his book the winds died away.

“Soren!” Zihark yelled.

The sage looked up and smirked, Nihil was about to comment when a figure broke in through the window near him. Klein tackled Nihil to the ground allowing Zihark and Mia to turn and slash through the nearby Sharks.

Swinging his arms around, Soren unleashed a powerful gale, knocking the Sharks near him flat “Leah! Come on!”

The pair headed for their allies as Nihil stood, rolling aside as Klein’s spear struck the ground “You are not a Shark. You are a coward!”

Leaping the spear shot out again, impaling the ground and narrowly scratching Nihil’s leg as he rolled away. Standing he swung his blade, Klein brought his arm up, the silver armor taking the blow and bouncing the blade away.

Spinning around the spear lashed out again, cutting across Nihil’s abdomen as he laughed “And what are you? Hiding in wait? That is the true tactic of a coward!”

Leaping over another strike, Nihil landed behind Klein and cut through his cape, the man turned just as quickly, bouncing Vermilion away before it could cut him again. Nihil rotated a few times, his cloak flaring out as his blade struck Klein’s chest plate. Reaching behind him, Klein grasped the end of his chain and threw it out.

The links wrapped around Nihil’s arm, pulling on it, he knocked the man off balance before crashing into him with his shoulder, sending him sprawling.

“This strategy is not cowardly…it is the tactic of a man who cares deeply for his friends!”

Nihil leapt to his feet and moved forward. Screaming his blade flashed, colliding with Klein’s Silver Spear again. This time Nihl really felt the massive force the Knight’s spear carried. Nihil’s blade bounced back much farther than he expected. Klein swung his spear again, cutting through the man as he flipped into the air. Vermilion shot out again only for Klein to slide out of range.

Landing Nihil cursed, the older man was far faster than he looked and carried far more force in his weapon than he was ready for. Bringing his blade up, the spear slammed into it, once again throwing Nihil across the ground.

Mia looked to Soren as he approached her, staff in hand “Are you alright.”

She nodded “Just a little embarrassed.”

“Don’t be.”

She looked to him as he started healing her “You’re fine. You know that.”

She smiled as the ceiling above them exploded and four figures fell into the room, landing around Soren and Mia.

The sage looked to them, all very tall and in heavy cloaks. One grabbed its cloak and threw it off revealing…wings. He pointed at Soren “Get him.”

The other three charged forward, one using his claw to strike Mia and throw her to the ground while the other kicked Leah aside.

“Mia!” Seeing them coming Soren couldn’t tend to Mia and instead threw himself out of their way, the third continued pursuing him “What are these…things?”

Nihil shot up again, his blade meeting Klein’s spear as he turned to the new combatants “Vampires!”

Zihark looked to the four as they charged Soren “Vampires?”

Mia stood, grasping her Wo Dao and spitting blood before noting the vampires closing in on Soren and remembering the talk they had _“These are the things that were watching us…watching him!”_

Several scattered Sharks were not sure what to do, Mia gestured to Zihark “We have to protect Soren!”

Ignoring her wounds she charged forward, Zihark right on her.

Soren hit a wall and focused a gale to strike a vampire, knocking it into the opposite wall like a bug while another got right in his face and sunk its claw into his abdomen. Feeling the ripping pain he fell to one knee.

“Oooh…this one is very different.” The vampire hissed.

“Soren!” The other two turned as Mia and Zihark leapt, their blades being caught by the vampires’ claws.

Klein looked at the beaten Nihil then to the vampires. _“The Sharks have to be stopped but the Order…”_

Cursing he left the man on the ground and joined the fray, striking the one in front of Soren away.

He turned “Klein Kruse! Still alive!”

“I won’t stop breathing until you are all dead!”

The one Soren threw to the wall joined his ally and they both charged Klein who stopped them with his spear.

“Why rely on such a weapon? Use what we gave you!”

Klein shook his head “Never!”

Striking one in the face with the hilt, he spun around and kicked the other away. They both jumped into the air. Reaching behind himself he pulled out the chain again this time wrapping it around his arm and hooking it to his spear “Hey!”

One vampire looked down at him as he spun the spear “Get back here!” Throwing the spear, it shot through the air and impaled the vampire in the chest. Pulling back on the chain the creature was ripped out of the air and crashed into the ground near Klein. Stepping on its back he picked up a stray blade and sunk it into its skull.

The one in the air screeched and tackled Klein to the ground.

Zihark was thrown into a wall shortly followed by Mia, the two vampires stalking towards them.

Mia spat more blood, she felt the strength leaving her body “Mia. Stay down, I’ll handle this.”

She shook her head “It’s a matter of pride…”

“What Nihil said? Fuck that asshole! You are brilliant, we all know it. Don’t kill yourself proving it here!”

Mia stood “Z…let me do this…”

“Mia! I can’t!”

She looked at him, he saw her smile “Please.”

Cursing he nodded and followed close behind her as her blade met another claw. Spinning quickly she went for a reverse attack, stopped by another claw.

As the vampire tried to rake his claws across her again she leapt over him, grabbing a stray Shark sword and using it to catch both of the creature’s hands. Leaping she kicked him back with all her might and followed him, holding up one blade horizontally as the vampire brought its claws down, gripping the blade as the Wo Dao plunged into its stomach and pinned it to a wall.

As it screeched she let go of both weapons and jumped away, picking up another stray. As it gripped the Wo Dao to pull it out it heard “Hey!”

Looking up just in time as Mia buried a blade into its skull.

Panting she looked back to see Zihark still clashing with the other vampire. Claws ripped through his arm, the Daein Trueblade flinched but carried through with another strike, slashing the vampire that jumped into the air and screeched before shooting into Zihark, taking the man across the room and slamming him into a wall.

She then looked over to Klein Kruse as he kicked one vampire away and jumped to his feet. No weapons in hand he took an unarmed stance, a vampire screeched and charged him. Yelling back, Klein wound his fist back and smashed the vampire in the face, grounding it.

Her eyes then met Leah, who stood there, not moving. She could practically feel him apologizing before her eyes fell on Soren, slumped against a wall clutching his own wound, his eyes then met hers, she saw him mouth her name as she fell over.

Soren shook his head “Mia!” Standing he ignored his body protesting and charged over as two more vampires entered the room.

“He’s weak!”

“You won’t stop me from getting to her!”

The fury returned, the sensation returned, roaring he held his hands out and black torrents engulfed the two vampires. They screamed in agony as their bodies melted away.

Soren fell near Mia and pulled out his staff “Mia!”

Zihark tore himself out of the wall only for the vampire waiting in front of him to punch him in the face and then kick him to the ground. Cracking its knuckles the vampire laughed “Pathetic!” It then noted Soren and approached him.

Klein snapped his opponent’s arm and kicked him to the ground. Leaping over he ripped his spear out of the other dead vampire’s body “Hey!”

Turning away from Soren, the vampire caught the spear in its chest. Klein cursed as the second vampire sunk his claws into the Knight’s back.

Another pair landed in the room and it was Zihark’s turn to curse, he also noted that all the Sharks and Nihil had split.

Klein turned to glare at the vampire behind him that opened its mouth revealing razor sharp teeth, its screech was cut off as a blade buried into its head. The vampire pulled away from Klein as the weapon was torn out. Turning it faced Leah who screamed as he ran Cerulean through its heart.

With his full might, Klein pulled the speared vampire to him and yelled “Leah!” Screaming the man buried his blade into the fallen body.

Zihark looked to the two nearing Soren “You are all very impressive.” One said.

“I thought the Joker was crazy bringing as many of us along as he did.” The other replied.

Soren looked to them, standing as he picked up a stray blade.

One snapped his fingers, two more dropped into the room followed by another that was still wrapped in its cowl, the blood red eyes fixated on Soren.

“These Sharks are remnants of an old age…they struggle to maintain relevance, unaware that the time of Rein has come.” The one in the back stated, before bowing.

“I am the Order of Rein’s Joker. You may call me…Kanahana.”

Klein stood “Kanahana.”

The vampire faced him “Ah! Klein…still kicking I see. Impressive.”

Zihark spat “What do you all want?”

Soren barely noticed Mia struggling, he wanted to say something but noted the faint anger in her eyes, directed at the five vampires “Why do you want Soren?”

Zihark raised an eyebrow “Soren?”

Kanahana sighed “So you know? That damn woman…I thought I was quick enough but she is very observant…”

Kanahana snapped his fingers and two more vampires landed in the room. Soren closed his eyes, he could call upon the black flames again but he could already feel his body weighing itself down. What would happen if he did it again?

“Surely you all realize that we’ve won here? But we aren’t greedy. We’ll just take the mage, leave you all with your lives, fair?”

Mia stood, pushing past Soren, taking the sword from his hands “Over my dead body!”

“Mia…”

Kanahana shrugged and gestured to the six around him “Alright. Kill her.”

A red flash dropped from above, knives rained down on the lead two, Uhnie looked up, eyes meeting the creatures. “Knock. Knock.”

The two behind Kanahana were feathered with arrows, turning to see Shinon “Who’s there?”

“Asskicking!” Uhnie yelled leaping up and kicking one vampire aside before flipping onto the other and wrestling it to the ground.

The back two charged Shinon who dove aside, as he slid across the ground he fired more bolts into the two “Asskicking who?”

Spinning his spear, Klein roared and charged past Shinon, burying his spear in one of the two while the Marksman flipped to his feet and shot two more, landing in the other vampire’s eyes. He looked to Klein “You ruined the punchline.”

The pair looked away from the dead vampires and focused on the last two that screeched and charged them.

Flipping over a claw, Uhnie landed near Mia “How are you even standing?”

“How long were you there?”

“I’m sorry, we had to wait till they all revealed themselves.”

Mia fell to her knees, exhausted.

Uhnie charged forward, sliding under one vampire’s legs before flipping around and burying a knife in the base of his skull. Bringing her feet onto his back she kicked off and dropped a ball near the last one.

The orb glowed and exploded in flames, incinerating the creature as Uhnie landed a few feet away and threw knives at Kanahana, who knocked them all aside.

He shook his head “You intend to get in my way?”

Uhnie winked “You have a problem with that?”

“A big one.” He deadpanned before flashing over to her and backhanding her, she flew across the room and struck a wall.

Seeing this Shinon spat “You son of a bitch!” Leaping away from the vampires he was fighting he fired on Kanahana who caught the bolts and snapped them in his hands.

Klein leapt away as the vampires tried to gore him “Kanahana! Is this your doing or Ulyus’?”

Kanahana flashed towards Klein and kicked him through a wall “Don’t speak the Ace’s name.”

He flashed towards Shinon and found something odd, he looked down to see an arrow in his chest. He smirked “You are fast.”

Grabbing Shinon by the throat he slammed him into the ground “Maybe I’ll take your blood for the insolence.”

Kanahana scanned the room, Klein struggling to stand, Leah frozen in place, Zihark leaning against a wall, Soren and Mia on their knees and Uhnie standing to face him. The other two vampires neared him and he smiled.

“All this for what? I offered to let you all live but you chose to fight me. The Order’s Joker. Believe what you will I don’t play around.”

Releasing Shinon’s throat he nodded and the other two vampires proceeded to kick the fallen Marksman as Kanahana walked towards Soren.

Uhnie yelled and charged forward, drawing her short sword. Kanahana slid out of range as it swung past him. He tried to grab her arm but she flipped around, the blade came again. This time Kanahana spun himself away. She pursued as the vampire laughed.

His claw shot out, grabbing the short sword and tearing it out of Uhnie’s grip. Flipping over, her legs hooked around Kanahana’s head. Leaning back, she fell to the ground, slamming the vampire into it, face first.

Getting up to her feet she pulled out two more knives as Kanahana stood and laughed “You are something…wait…”

He sniffed the air, opening his mouth to speak as Uhnie charged him again. His palm shot out and struck her in the face before he leapt and kicked her to the ground.

“I don’t like being interrupted.”

As she struggled to stand he looked to Soren again, walking towards him only for Mia to get in the way, aiming a blade at him.

“You are very determined.”

“I won’t let you touch him.”

He noted the cold stare and smiled “I can see that you won’t.”

She swung her blade which he grabbed and snapped in two before backhanding her to the ground.

He now faced Soren, seeing the fury in the mage’s eyes “You didn’t like that?”

He walked over to Mia “What if I…” he then kicked her, causing her to cry out “Do that?”

“I’m going to kill you!” Kanahana waved the sage’s threat off as he now stood before him.

“Soren is your name correct? You are what the Order needs so I can’t kill you but I can make you wish you were dead.”

Soren brought a hand up, Kanahana grabbed it and snapped his arm, Soren yelled as it fell limp “I saw you incinerate my comrades. That’s why I sent them ahead of me. Your swordplay. Your wind magic. Your cursed fire. I know about all of it. You have no secrets from me! Give up!”

Soren felt the surge inside him proceed a different way and faced Kanahana inhaling before screaming, black flames erupted from his mouth, crashing against Kanahana and licking across his body, burning away his cloak in a flash.

Falling back he yelled, acting quickly, Uhnie threw another Fire Bomb at Kanahana’s feet, the blast burned him and threw him across the room. The two vampires turned in the direction he went.

Soren felt sick and fell over, Zihark struggled towards his friends as Uhnie neared them “I’m sorry…I thought we’d be enough.” She managed to gasp out as Zihark shook his head.

“Who could have expected this?”

Klein joined Uhnie, aiming his spear at the pair of vampires as Kanahana stood back up, laughing.

“Okay…that was good…I did not see that coming.”

Now standing he dusted himself off. The robe gone revealed a dark blue long sleeved shirt with several blood red designs near his hands and around the long cut below his neck that revealed the vampire’s musculature.

A long gray cloth was wrapped around his waist which then gave way to the dark green leggings, splitting open to show his black boots with gray designs.

A red scarf of sorts covered Kanahana’s shoulders and fell down behind his neck. Cracking his shoulders he couldn’t stop the laughs from returning “It’s a good thing you are exhausted, the flames could have easily eaten me alive…ah well…now I know for certain you are all out of tricks.”

He sighed, his blood red eyes finding Soren “It’s over now though.”

“Think again!”

Ike landed in the room, swinging Ragnell and Alondite, the beams separated the three vampires. They took to the skies, Ranulf tackled one to the ground, leaping off of it as Titania fell from above, her axe sinking into the vampire with unmatched force, breaking all the bones in its chest and smashing its heart.

Wyre held his hand out “Brave Bolt!” Four orbs glowed around his arm and shot off, striking the second vampire in rapid succession before Wyre spun around and unleashed a powerful Arcthunder beam that ripped clean through the vampire.

As the body fell Kanahana looked to Ike who swung his blades again, beams ripping through the air and the ruined ceiling as he dropped to the ground.

Kanahana laughed as Ike pursued him, Ragnell and Alondite flashing again. As more beams exploded against the wall, Mist ran over to Soren, Mia, Klein, Zihark and Uhnie, pulling out a Fortify staff and holding it above her “This’ll give all enough strength to stand and move. Honestly you all look-“

“Like shit?”

Mist turned to Klein and nodded “Yeah. Like shit.”

He chuckled and spun his spear “Of that I’m certain.”

Wyre stood near Kanahana, watching as he dove aside, dodging Ike again, Wyre unleashed another beam of electricity, narrowly missing Kanahana. Though in dodging it he flew into Ike’s range and took two beams to the chest and crashed against the wall.

He continued laughing “Marvelous!”

He looked to the Mercenaries “You all…you all are something extraordinary…”

Dusting himself off again and twisting his head, cracking his neck he sighed “I am Kanahana the Joker of the Order of Rein. Make no mistake…we WILL meet again.”

Laughing he shot up into the night sky.

Ike looked over the destroyed chamber, all the dead bodies and his worn out allies. He approached Soren, Mia and Zihark “Are you three alright?”

Soren cursed “I’m sorry.”

“Soren-“

The sage looked to Mia and Zihark “I’m sorry…my plan could have…would have gotten us all killed…”

Mia shook her head “You couldn’t have known-“

“But I did! Uhnie told me and I foolishly underestimated them.”

Leah joined them “No…this is all my fault. You were all caught off guard and tired from fighting the Sharks, a fight I didn’t even help in…”

“Leah…”

The man from Usvale stopped Zihark by raising his hand and shaking his head “This was my fault. I know it.”

Ike joined the group noting Leah “No it wasn’t…despite everything…”

He kneeled down next to Soren and put a hand on his shoulder “We’re all still here. Alive. That’s what matters.”

Wyre joined them, putting away his staff as Shinon limped behind him “For now, I think it best to go to the inn, rest and recollect. We can figure out what our next move is tomorrow.”

Klein nodded “Indeed. All of you…thank you for your actions here tonight. Soren.”

The sage looked up at the man “Your plan was brilliant.”

Soren sighed before finding Uhnie “Thank you. Again, Uhnie.”

She shrugged “I wish I could have done more…but…you’re welcome, Soren.”

All together the group left the ruined building and headed for a nearby inn.

* * *

_Elsewhere_

“Joker…was this really the plan?”

“Jack. Club. Why are you here?”

Club crossed his arms “Because we were sure your plan would pan out. They’ve regrouped.”

Kanahana shrugged “Ultimately this was all to see what they’re capable of. It was a test.”

Jack spat “A test? So what are the results?”

Kanahana chuckled “They failed.”


	23. Investigations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regrouping the Mercenaries and their allies discuss their next steps in dealing with the Order of Rein, The Sharks and the smuggle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yesterday late night I randomly logged onto twitter, just cause and the first post, listed as 'just now' was how I learned that Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata passed away the 11th (Japan Time) and from there it spread like wildfire.  
> I have a lot to thank Nintendo and Satoru Iwata for. I've spent most my life playing their games and their games have brought me so much joy.  
> I love Nintendo games, Fire Emblem is my favorite franchise so i will continue writing fics for not only enjoyment for myself and (hopefully) others but as thanks to Nintendo for creating the games I love. Thanks for everything Iwata.

**Chapter 22 – Investigations**

_Centra Stronghold_

“Knight and Bishop reported in.”

Lyger crossed his arms, while Miina sighed “It isn’t good, is it Yuuten?”

The man shook his head “It seems the Sharks Row has reformed under the lead of a former fighter named Nihil who fought as the Skewer. In addition they fended off an assault from the Order of Rein led by their Joker, Kanahana…they also learned that these things look like men with the wings of bats…they’re called Vampires.”

Lyger slammed his fist into a wall “Well…this just gets better…we should be out there Yuuten! We should be other ripping these fuckers to shreds!”

Yuuten sighed “There is one other the thing. The investigation that Soren’s group was on, tasked by Lytros. They’ve hit quite the snag, they need our help.”

Miina tilted her head “What do they need?”

“All our help in finding a man named Tohgum. His entire crew and captain was killed by unknown assailants, most likely in relation to the smuggle, he may be the only one left.”

As Lyger and Miina talked to each other, Yuuten looked at the additional words at the end written just for him.

_“I remembered something else. The Vampires, specifically their leader, the Ace: Ulyus Rein, he is determined to attain something called Ultimatum. He has six lead vampires including Kanahana. I still can’t recall where the base was but I do remember a lot of stone…and it was very, very dark…”_

* * *

_Major Port City, Wisin_

“All dead?”

Soren nodded to Ike as Mist finished with the wrap across his torso where the vampire ripped into him.

Uhnie shook her head “It’s the perfect strategy. It’s been seven months, they weren’t just going to leave possible loose ends around.”

“Somehow Tohgum anticipated that and disappeared.” Mia added. “His home was in the worse state but not because of a fight, it was more like a search.”

“We looked as well to see if there was anything that could tell us where he ran off to but…there was nothing of value.” Soren finished as Mist moved away from him.

Shinon groaned “This just gets better.”

Klein shook his head “Not at all. The Sharks…a problem we hoped was long done is back and worse than ever. The man in the lead, Nihil is a fucking nutjob.”

Wyre cleared his throat and gestured over to Leah, the Knight brought a hand to his face “I’m sorry. I know he’s your brother.”

Leah shook his head, almost whispering “No…he isn’t.”

Titania crossed her arms “So to summarize, we have a cult of…vampires after Soren, hiding who knows where. Leah’s brother declaring war on sanity, his whereabouts also currently unknown and to top it off the only link to the smuggle is missing in action. What do we know?”

The room fell silent, Soren looked to Klein and Wyre “You two. Do you keep logs of where people disappear from?”

Klein nodded “Yes, I came here looking for two disappearances. Given the Sharks’ new status quo at least one might have been in relation to them.”

“Let me guess, one was a missing woman?”

Klein nodded again as Zihark sighed “That Nihil, on top of everything he is a sexist. Great.”

“Disappearances are pretty scattered all over Centra in Unitt-“

Cutting him off, Soren stood “Where are the most disappearances from?”

Wyre thought for a bit “Quadnis, northeast of Unitt near the shore. It’s quite the distance from here.”

Klein tapped his chin “Quadnis…are there good places to hide up there?”

Wyre pulled out a map “Possibly. There are a lot of mountains and deep forests along the eastern border of the city running down the east coast of the island.”

“Then that’s where we need to be.” Soren stated as Uhnie walked over to him.

“Hey! Shorty, they are after you! What you are doing right now if you are right about this, is delivering yourself to them!”

Soren met her eyes “No. I’m rooting them out so _we_ can kill them all.”

Klein nodded “I like the sound of that.”

Ranulf looked outside “The others probably received word of everything going on…if we’re going to Quadnis we should let them know. They’ll get there before us and can give us the lay of the land when we get there.”

Ike nodded “Indeed, but what can we do, a lot happened. What about the Sharks and Tohgum? How will we handle that?”

Shinon raised his hand “Uhnie and I can snoop for them. She was trained by Volke this kind of thing should be cake.”

Uhnie shrugged “Don’t want to brag…though I will need as much information about the two of them as possible.”

Klein chuckled “Already sent word to the other Pieces with that exact request. Knowing Miina she’ll convince them sending us whatever they can on the Sharks and Rein will help.”

Soren shrugged on his cloak “Good. Then we know what we’re doing. Uhnie. Shinon. Are you sure about operating on your own?”

Uhnie smirked “Worried about me, Shorty?”

“Yes.”

Uhnie’s joking pose faded, as did her smile as she watched Soren, she struggled to say something back but just settled on nodding.

“So we’re all moving together?” Ike asked.

At that Mia nodded “We’ll be most efficient that way, right Soren?”

“Yes. Given everything we know the Order is the biggest threat and they are directly aimed at us.”

“Specifically you.” Shinon corrected to which Soren agreed before looking to Leah “Are you fine with us leaving your brother for another time?”

Leah nodded “As you could all tell from that battle…I’m in no position to fight him…actually, I’m in no position to fight anyone…I should probably just head back to Usvale.”

Zihark shook his head “Not at all, you had Klein’s back in there when it came down to it.” The Knight agreed as Leah sighed.

“I felt so sick…I’m not sure what use I can be.”

“Regardless, if your brother is absolutely after your life he’ll go after you if we leave you by yourself. You have to come with us.”

Leah looked to Ike then to Soren, Mia and Zihark who all nodded.

“Alright. I’ll stick with you all.”

Wyre clapped his hands together “So we have our destination, let’s all get ready. Klein get transport ready for us.”

“Ten minutes.” The Knight muttered as he walked out of the room.

As everyone left, Mia put a hand on Soren’s shoulder “You’re alright, right?”

“Yeah…just disappointed in myself.”

“Soren. You know nothing that happened was your fault. We. Are. Fine. We’re alive.”

“I know…I know…”

Mia turned him to face her and embraced him, “I’m alive thanks to you.”

“Mia…”

As he hugged her, he heard someone clear their throat. Turning he spotted Uhnie with a smile “Am I interrupting something?”

Soren surprised himself by not just saying “Yes.” But keeping Mia in his arms as he asked “What is it?”

Uhnie looked at Mia then to Soren “There is something I need to talk to you about. Privately.”

Soren looked to Mia as she released him “I have to get ready…come see me when we’re ready to go?”

Soren nodded as he walked away with Uhnie.

* * *

“Sir Kruse.”

“Klein is fine. What is it Leah?”

The man tried to find the words. Shaking his head he just asked “Why did you let Nihil live?”

Now facing Leah, Klein crossed his arms “Quite a few reasons actually…”

“He’s a criminal, you know what he hand his Sharks have been doing.”

“Yes but…he needs to answer for his crimes.”

“You think he’ll stand trial? You saw him, no matter how many times he was hit he kept getting up and fighting, you can’t bring him in.”

Klein nodded “I noticed. There is no way to keep him down and the Vampires are a more real threat.”

Before Leah could ask his next question, Klein interrupted “I didn’t go along to kill him in the first place. We went to get you back and things got out of hand. Listen, Leah. I’m not a good person.”

“But…you’re the Knight of the Five Pieces.”

“Yes. That doesn’t mean I was always a good person and a few things that I believed before still hold true. I honestly think that if anyone is to kill Nihil it has to be you…and from my talk with Wyton he told me the Knight is the protector of the realm, its greatest shield, not a weapon of justice. When he first told me as much I didn’t understand but now…I think I do.”

The Knight stepped forward and put a hand on Leah’s shoulder “Listen to me. Leah. Despite what he says…Nihil is no warrior.”

“…what?”

“He’s just a dog…a man with no morals finding excuses to kill. The underground fights he took part in, the one and one duels to the death, the money all the things he did do not represent what real combat is. What you saw, Soren, Mia, Zihark and I fighting the Sharks, the Vampires, taking blows…being pushed to the edge. That is battle. That is war. That is survival. That is what it really is and you now have a greater understanding of what its like compared to your brother.”

“Even so…even if that’s true, he’s still a better swordsman than I am…”

Klein tilted his head “Do you really believe that? Did you try to fight him?”

“…no.”

“Then you have yet to really see how you measure up. Your friends want to train you correct? Let them and you’ll come into your own and maybe you’ll face Nihil again some day.”

Leah looked up to Klein as the man took a deep breath “And when you do. Should you beat him. Have him at your mercy. You’ll understand…everything.”

As Klein walked away, Leah bowed “Thank you.”

* * *

Outside on a balcony, Soren came to a stop and crossed his arms. “What is it?”

Uhnie turned to face him, angry. “This is stupid. The vampires will rip you apart, no amount of us can stop them!”

Soren sighed “I know, you made that clear.”

“Not clear enough! Soren! Don’t do this.”

Galring at her he asked “Why do you care so much?”

She leaned in and whispered in his ear “Because I know that you are a Branded.”

Pulling away see saw the shock in his face “How?” was all he could ask.

“My teacher, Volke is a Branded too…”

Soren thought back “Volke.” It sure as hell explained a lot of oddities about him.

Uhnie nodded “He also he taught me how to sense other Branded.”

“Are you-“

“Tellian or Branded? I’m certain I’m not the former but…maybe a bit of the latter? Volke did give some of his blood to me…as expected my…abilities are nowhere near as powerful as I’m sure they are for him but I can hear and see far better as well as identify some things. Feel things.”

Soren looked away “So you know…that’s why you’re so worried about me?”

“Like I said Soren. I feel things. Volke made it pretty clear that there are not that many Branded so…I just…I have this faint sense of…kinship…that I feel around you. It’s really hard to explain but it’s the truth.”

Soren nodded and sighed “Uhnie-“

“Don’t tell anyone. I know.”

He looked back into the room as Ranulf and Mist appeared, heading outside then looked back to Uhnie “I’m still doing this.”

“I know…be safe…”

With that she walked by him, heading out. Soren felt…odd. Years ago he’d laugh as such emotions, at such thoughts. He’d ignore people’s concern, their words.

But now…to know that someone else worries about him, cares for his wellbeing.

“Uhnie!”

She stopped, her hand on the door and looked back “Yeah?”

“Whatever level of kin we are I don’t know but…I’d like to think of you…as a friend. If that’s alright with you.”

She smiled “Can I still tell my jokes?”

Soren scoffed “Yes.”

“Then we’re friends Shorty.”

Walking outside she spotted Shinon and laughed at his face “What is that? Jealousy?”

“No! But you seemed way chummy with Soren.”

She nodded “Yeah…turns out we’re friends now.”

“Friends?”

“Yep.”

The pair started walking with Shinon shaking his head “That guy…if you told me he’d be like this five years ago I’d have called you a fucking loon.”

“You really need to talk with him more Shinon, he’s a good guy.”

Shinon rolled his eyes “Right.”

“Can I ask something?”

“Go ahead?”

“Do you have to try so hard to be so removed? Removed is boring.”

Shinon laughed “I’m not removed…”

Uhnie smirked “Really? You act like it quite a bit.” She then thought of the fight against the Sharks and the way Shinon acted.

“But I know there is more to you than that. You’re a good man too.”

Shinon said nothing as Uhnie snapped her fingers “By the way I kinda expected more from you when I told you Volke was Branded. Your eyes kinda widened a bit but you didn’t even bring it up.”

Shinon nodded “Because you started talking about how you were a weapon. How what you felt meant nothing. I wasn’t going to let you think of yourself that way. Forget what’s in Volke’s blood or who his parents were. You. Are a good person.”

Uhnie started to say something but decided against it and looked forward as they kept walking.

* * *

“Mia.”

She turned to see Soren, “Hey.” She stood, holding her packed supplies “You all set?”

He nodded, gesturing to his bag “I take it you are as well?”

“Yeah…”

She scratched her arm nervously before speaking “Soren…I’m…sorry you saw me that way yesterday…”

“What? When you fought Nihil?”

She nodded “It’s been so long. So long. Those feelings are still there…that hate just waits for any excuse to come out…”

“Mia. It’s fine. I told you when you told me your story that nothing you say will change what’s between us.”

Mia smiled “I know…I just…”

Looking down she approached Soren “…what is…between us?”

Her eyes found his, the sage tried to calm his beating heart but couldn’t “Mia. I…its…we…”

He sighed “We’re combat partners.”

“Is that…all?”

Soren was well aware how close Mia was to him, not just in this moment, but since…since they met.

“No.”

He watched a smile grow on her face, she leaned in and gave him a peck on the cheek. Any thoughts he had were lost in that moment as he looked to her smile again “We should go. Lots to do.”

He swallowed and nodded “Yeah.”

* * *

_Elsewhere_

“So…this is all of us?”

Nihil crossed his arms, before him stood about twenty or so Sharks. He sighed, those people not only ruined his duel but took quite a lot of his Sharks with them.

He thought back to Leah “Was that really all the fight he had in him? Sad.”

“What do we do now, sir?”

Nihil tapped his chin “We need more Sharks, so we’ll find more Sharks. We’ll worry about what comes next later.”

* * *

“Spade. Diamond.”

“Yes Ace.”

The man sat down, rubbing his chin “Seems Joker lost quite a few of our lessers…we’ll need more.”

Spade looked up “Where do we go this time?”

“Joker actually had a very good suggestion.”

Diamond spat “Why should we listen to him? He got them killed and came back empty handed!”

Ace nodded “He did…but he brought us information. We have our strength and now we have knowledge. The next assault will go our way. Until then…Diamond. Spade. You have quite a flight ahead of you but we will be unstoppable after this.”

Diamond and Spade took their leave as Club and Heart entered after them with the latter asking “What of us, sir?”

“I have the feeling that Joker’s little show has put them on our scent. So we’re going to welcome them.”

Club and Heart bowed.

* * *

_Major Port City, Wisin_

“Anything in those forms?”

Uhnie shrugged at Shinon “It’s mostly about the old Sharks. However it does footnote the disappearances that started up again. The running theory which is mostly fact by now is that it was a third party. When the disappearances stopped it was because of the shift from the money Sharks to the blood Sharks. When they started up again it was the Order of Rein. I’m pretty sure more men have been taken to be killed or recruited by the Sharks sometime after that. Whether or not they were purposefully using the Rein incidents as a smoke screen, not completely sure.”

“And the crew from Thyremog?”

Uhnie shrugged at that “Our theory is that the…people who were smuggled on their ship killed them as a precaution. Several of them are on here too as missing, they apparently started disappearing a month after the ship got here.”

The marksman nodded “So that’s it?”

“Unfortunately…but it’s to be expected, they have more on the Rein related kidnappings. They are literally all over Centra, but only Centra…why is that?”

Shinon tapped Uhnie’s shoulder as the Fish House came into view “This is where we threw down…looks less menacing in the daylight…still smells like shit though.”

Uhnie nodded “Well, for now let’s see what we can get from here.”

Entering the building Uhnie called out to the workers “Hey all!”

A man turned to see the pair approaching.

“You must be-“

“The foreigners one a very important mission. So, you’ve been here since dawn. What can you tell me?”

The man bowed and turned their attention to the ruined Fish House, before them, lined up were the bodies of the Sharks and Vampires killed the previous night. All the Sharks’ weapons were to the side and all their cowls were removed.

“These men range from eighteen to twenty nine. We’ve been able to pinpoint the origin of only four of these. Two being from here, Wisin, one from Unitt and one from Heogettr.”

Shinon gestured to the winged monsters “Them?”

The man shook his head “If these were…people at one point it’s almost impossible to tell, the new teeth, the new eyes…the seemingly dead skin…it’s like if they were a person they died and were born again as something different.”

Uhnie crossed her arms “Sick…anything recovered from them, their nails, their teeth…these guys’ blades.”

Nodding again the man gestured to another group of soldiers, a woman spoke up “All we’ve found is flesh and blood, most likely from all of you who killed them. Nothing else.”

“Although.” The group turned to a heavyset man near the blades.

“These are custom made blades. The hilt uses parts from two different arms and the blade’s steel itself feels…unique…it was designed to be sharp above all things.”

“Like a Sharks’ tooth I’m guessing…geez.”

Ignoring Shinon’s mutter, Uhnie gestured for the man to continue.

“We’ll break it down and try to match the composited pieces to those of swords that use them.”

Uhnie smiled “Good. Then we can find the most likely place that these guys are smith-ing their blades.”

“But will any of them be there?” Uhnie looked to Shinon “Maybe not, but it’s more than we had before…which was nothing.”

The man near the blades called out “We’ll send word when we have the information.”

Uhnie nodded before waving and departing with Shinon close behind “So now we have to look into this Tohgum, Gahnzo thing, right?”

“Yeah…Gahnzo’s body was already taken but what I’m more interested in is Tohgum’s place. You have a keen eye?”

“Of course.”

“Good. We’re going to search that place inch by inch.”

* * *

_Road to Quadnis_

In one carriage Klein found himself shaking his head before bringing a hand to his forehead. Trying to stop the pulsating sensation.

“Klein? You alright?”

The Knight looked to Zihark “Yeah…yeah…I’m fine…”

He shook his head, trying to get any residual feelings out.

“You sure?”

“Yeah…yeah…”

Zihark looked away briefly before snapping his fingers “By the way…how did you know they were called Vampires?”

“Hm?”

“When they first dropped in on us? We’ve just been calling them things. Monsters. Creatures. Which, granted they still are.”

Ranulf, sitting across from them nodded “Granted it’s easier to refer to them as vampires if that’s what they really are.”

Klein coughed “When I was…fighting them on my own, before I became Knight, one said as much but it hit me pretty hard. The word kinda slipped my mind until I saw them all again last night.”

Ranulf and Zihark nodded as the Knight gripped his head again.

* * *

In another carriage, Soren sat next to Mia. Across from them was Leah and Wyre. The sage had something he needed to know so he started “Wyre.”

The Bishop looked up “Yes?”

“Would you mind filling me in on Klein?”

Wyre tilted his head “What would you like to know?”

“Who is he? Where did he come from?”

Wyre sighed, scratching the back of his head “I wish I knew. Only Yuuten is privy to the details. Wyton retired about nine months ago and our Kingdom was left with no Knight. Lyger, Miina and I tried to find a replacement but we couldn’t seem to find one who…fit. About three months ago Yuuten was out in Heogettr after a particularly nasty series of Rein kidnappings. He said while he was there he met Klein, fighting off the vampires of all things. It was an impressive boast but all you need to do is watch Klein in combat. The man is nowhere near as large as Lyger but immensely powerful.”

“So he became your Knight for that?” Mia asked.

Wyre nodded “Yes. Though he doesn’t want to talk of his past…he says he didn’t grow up the best so he blocks it out. I think it affects him, he gets a lot of headaches but he never tells anyone.”

Soren narrowed his eyes.

_“Fine. Then who are you?”_

_“I still would rather not say…damn it my cover is in shambles…I want you both to do me a favor. I know I have no right to ask for it but please…do not mention my ability to fly to anyone, alright?”_

“Soren?”

The man looked up to Leah “You alright?”

He nodded silently as he sat back.

“By the way Wyre.” The Bishop looked at Mia “Yes?”

“What was that spell you used when you came to our aid?”

“Oh!” He took out his tome “This is a book I crafted.”

Mia tilted her head “You crafted? Soren, didn’t you say that was impossible?”

The sage turned “No. I said it was extremely difficult. I may be a master at the spells but I could never conjure one. I buy the tomes.”

Wyre smiled “I was like that for while but I needed something new, as opposed to the standard Lightning. Which I believe is called Thunder in Tellius?”

Mia nodded “Our spells follow a root form of basic, El-class, Arc-class and special. Soren’s go Wind, Elwind, Arcwind and Tornado.”

“Though we do have a subset for unique ones like Rexcalibur and Fimbulvtr.” Soren added.

Wyre smiled “Interesting. Our system is in grades so it’s very simple. Lightning, Lightning II, Lightning III. Mine is called Brave Bolt. It allows me to summon four electrical balls and freely command them.”

“Sounds very useful.” Leah commented as Wyre chuckled “Indeed it is.”

Mia leaned back “So how did you become Bishop? Did you present them with your custom Tome and impress them that way?”

Wyre shook his head “I was always a scholar first, mage second. Shae always told me that instead of reading about the things in books I should be out doing them. Making new differences instead of reading of the old ones.”

“You took her advice?”

Wyre nodded to Leah “I decided to study magic. Here in Hitenticul mages are great warriors. In the old days the land was practically ruled by Giants.”

Soren raised an eyebrow “Giants?”

“Yes. Huge creatures that looked like men but bigger than most homes. They often dragged trees with them as weapons. They were a terror to early life and all conventional weapons: blades, axes, spears and bows were useless. The first mage was a woman named Centra. She commanded flames, burned away the Giants’ weapons and forced them to retreat.”

As Wyre took a breath Leah continued for him “She defended a small camp so well that others came to her, they united under her and formed the first city in the wild Hitenticul. We named it Unitt in honor of the unity it brought to the people.”

Wyre smiled “That’s right.”

The man from Usvale resumed speaking “I read a lot about ancient Hitenticul heroes in my youth. They always fascinated me. Their daring adventures, limitless bravery and peerless skills…I…wanted to be like them.”

Mia tapped his shoulder “We still have time to train you, Leah.”

“I know but-“

“It has nothing to do with fighting Nihil. We can still improve your swordplay just for you.”

Leah smiled as Wyre continued “Anyway, I thought if I could find a Giant and kill it, I’d be…well…famous. They’ve been extinct in Hitenticul for ages but maybe one snuck by…Shae thought I was being foolish. Having my abilities was not a method of gaining fame. I apologized quite a lot after that fight…I think she finally forgave me a month later.”

Mia joined the Bishop in laughing as Soren shook his head “Instead I learned of Centra’s unique tome she constructed, Firestorm. It was said to burn anything alive, Giants feared her for it and ran at the sight of her scarlet robes. I was fascinated by that and constructed my own. I tested it and was amazed by how successful it was. I fully expected it to fall apart in my hands. Tallnit, my predecessor retired as Bishop three years ago and for two years the Five Pieces had no Bishop.”

Soren raised an eyebrow “It’s very different from anything I’ve heard. I have to say I actually like that you don’t operate on succession. Though it does have its downsides.”

Wyre nodded “Luckily the four other Pieces can manage just as well, doesn’t mean they don’t stop looking. Miina kept her ear to the ground and eventually heard of the intelligent man and crafty mage in Unitt and came out to meet me. She said the Pieces needed an intelligent and capable man. Not for combat but to make sure that the Five Pieces’ rule continued to be the well intentioned guard that it is for the people. I was recruited for my scholastic mind not my magical ability. Though I think it fair to say that helped…so I’ve been serving as the Five Pieces’ Bishop for a little over a year now.”

Mia smiled “That’s great…whatever happened to Tallnit?”

Wyre sighed “I went to a few of the man’s speeches. He was very intelligent, he crafted quite a few of his own tomes and constantly questioned elements of the world. He was a great researcher, learning of Thyremog all those years back just made him more interested in the world. After he retired…no one really knows what happened. The Pieces tried to keep in touch but nothing, he’s either living in a small settlement in Staer researching new things or in Pohelle living as a hermit.”

“Sounds like quite the inquisitive mind. I’d like to meet him.”

Wyre nodded to Soren “Well, once we get this Vampire issue dealt with we can go looking for him. He always has fantastic ideas…truly a joy to listen to.”

* * *

“You feel better, right man?”

Zihark nodded to Ranulf “Yeah…just wish we didn’t get our asses kicked so hard.”

Klein shook his head “No, we held them off pretty well. How many did you kill? Any other man would have fallen over dead.”

Zihark laughed “I am pretty badass…but…”

His face became serious “Soren and Mia…”

Ranulf raised an eyebrow “What about them?”

“It’s like they were set to die for each other…Mia should’ve stayed down but she just kept fighting. It was impressive but I was really worried for her, especially when I couldn’t find her and Soren. He knows they’re after him…”

Klein nodded “Indeed…though I wonder why. They drink blood and while you are all Tellian I figured that Ranulf’s blood would be more interesting.”

“Woah, no thanks. I mean it’s bad that they’re obsessed with Soren but I’m not letting them near me!”

Zihark smirked “You’re the one who took a bite out of one the second you leapt into battle.”

“I had to get him down for Titania to smash him!”

“Now she is what I call a woman.”

Zihark and Ranulf looked to Klein, he regarded them before realizing what he said “What? Am I not allowed to think such things?”

Zihark shrugged “Nah, I guess not. You just kind of blindsided us.”

“Wielding that axe with such ease…I feel sorry for our enemies.”

As Klein looked away he felt another pulse in his head.

* * *

_Major Port City, Wisin_

“Nothing here…how are you doing?”

Shinon kept his eyes on the ground as he called back “Not too good…there’s just a ton of junk. Good news though, still no blood so there definitely wasn’t a fight.”

Uhnie sighed, she knew this would be tough but she could feel her eyes wanting to pop out from all the strain.

Shinon stood up and looked over to her “You alright?”

She felt a bad ache inside her…she knew what it was. The Branded blood Volke gave her.

“Kin.”

“What?”

She shook her head “I just…I’m worried.”

“About the others?”

“Yeah…those vampires were no joke.”

Shinon nodded, leaning against the wall “Yeah but we still kicked their asses in the end not to mention it wasn’t all of us. If we were all together that Kanahana guy would’ve gotten ripped up along with his pals.”

“I suppose.”

Shinon walked over to the Shade and turned her to face him “Hey. Everything will be fine.”

She eyed him “Really? Can you say that?”

“I can.”

“Why?”

He smirked “Because…we won two wars and defeated the very Goddess who created us not to mention the Dragon King, the Black Knight and a lot of other stupidly difficult shit no group of people should ever have to do AND…we’re still kickin. These vampires will just be another footnote in our long list of badassery.”

Uhnie couldn’t help but laugh at that before leaning up to Shinon and kissing him “Thanks.”

Clearing his throat he stepped away “Yeah yeah…no-“

Turning around he stumbled over something “What the hell?”

Kneeling down he picked up a…stone? It was odd, half of it was a dark gray the other was almost blue.

Uhnie joined him “I think we just got a lead.”

Shinon pocketed the stone “For the attackers or for Tohgum?”

“Either way, it’s something. Let’s go back and see if we know where the swords are from.”

* * *

_Centra Stronghold_

“Rook. King. Queen.”

The three noted the messenger “We received word from down south near Groopin.”

“About what?” Lyger asked.

“Apparently two massive…bats…flew overhead.”

Lyger looked to Yuuten and Miina as the King spoke “They are headed for Groopin?”

“The direction would imply as much. What should we do sirs? Ma’am?”

Lyger snapped his fingers, Miina reached over and pulled out a massive twin headed axe, throwing it, Lyger grabbed it out of the air.

“It’s not even a question.”


	24. Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Mercenaries track the vampires to Quadnis as the Other Pieces head for Groopin.

**Chapter 23 - Hunt**

_Elevated Vale, Quadnis_

Quadnis was a very widespread town, covering much ground and even sharing the northern coast of Centra. To the east were several tall peaks that fell off into the ocean and south from them was a dense forest.

Quadnis supplies much of Centra with a lot of fruits and meats, during the trading days with Thyremog, ships from Quadnis were the ones that the foreign Kingdom loved to see the most.

Though they haven’t traded with the Kingdom in a while as of four months ago they have been exchanging with other lands in the unknown.

The Mercenaries along with Centra’s Bishop and Knight arrived at the edge of the town.

“What do we do first?” Soren asked Ike.

“Gatrie, Oscar, Boyd and Rolf are most likely here so we should find them.”

“We should also speak with some of the witnesses of the previous Rein kidnappings. There aren’t many but maybe together they can tell a new story.” Wyre commented.

Soren nodded “We’ll do that then. Ike can find the rest of our people we have to find the Order.”

“How will we meet up again?” Zihark asked.

Wyre raised his hand “I’ll shoot some lightning into the sky to tell you where we are. Should we find a lead you can follow us.”

As the Mercenaries nodded, Titania put a hand on the sage’s shoulder “Just be careful as always. If we really are closer to them we don’t want to have you taken from us without putting up a fight.”

The gold knight looked to Mia who spoke “They won’t get to him. Trust me.”

As Ike’s group moved away, Zihark turned to Klein and Wyre “Lead the way.”

The pair nodded and headed into Quadnis with the mercenaries close behind.

* * *

_Major Port City, Wisin_

“Well a majority of the components come from Unitt and Heogettr but a very specific metal along the edge…making it so sharp and nasty comes from a small mine near Groopin. We don’t make a lot of weapons with the steel from there because it is susceptible to cracking and breaking in intense combat.”

Uhnie nodded as Shinon opened his map and whistled “Groopin is pretty far off, not as much as Quadnis is but it’s no cakewalk.”

Reaching into his pocket he held out the stone “What about this?”

The man looked at it and smiled “Have you been to Theem?”

The pair looked at each other with Uhnie speaking “No. Never even heard of it, well besides on the map.”

The man raised an eyebrow “Oh. Well in Theem there is a structure made of rock called Azure Stone because of how blue the inside of it is. It is used in a lot of building in Theem that’s why we call the city Centra’s Azure Edge.”

“Thank you.” Uhnie said as she and Shinon moved away.

“We got some good info.” Shinon stated with Uhnie sighing “Too good. Theem and Groopin are far off in opposite directions. One is maybe where the Sharks are and the other could possibly lead us to Tohgum.”

Shinon tapped his chin “Well…what beef do we have with Nihil and his Sharks?”

“They tried to kill your allies. Don’t write that off.”

“I know, I know. But the Sharks want Leah, he’s safe with the rest of our guys. We have no clue who wants Tohgum. He could be getting surrounded at this very moment.”

Uhnie nodded “That is true…so…Theem it is?”

“Gonna have to be.”

Uhnie moved over to the other man “Excuse me, what’s the fastest way to get to Theem?”

* * *

_Elevated Vale, Quadnis_

“So you two are the new guys right?”

Klein and Wyre looked at Zihark, both nodding. “Though he is newer than me so he still has to respect me.” Wyre stated as Klein laughed.

“Sure, sure. I’m older than he is so _he_ has to respect _me_.”

Zihark chuckled as Leah spoke up “What are the other Pieces like?”

Wyre tilted his head as the man from Usvale continued “I mean…I hear a lot about them, their heroes in their own regards. Tallnit and Wyton included. I’ve just never got to meet any of them.”

Klein gestured to himself “Well now you have.”

Wyre smacked the older man’s arm “The Heitnaro brothers. Pretty sure you know a lot about them.”

“Yeah in battle they earned the nicknames Sharp Gale and Raging Storm.”

Klein looked up “They are all that and more…or less. Yuuten is very brave, level headed and in control. In battle he commands his blade Checkmate with ease, at the height of combat the weapon is a blur. As King, his lead is easy to follow even if he has just as much power as the other Pieces. Everything for him is for the safety and wellbeing of Hitenticul as a whole. He loves to visit the people of Staer and Pohelle and provide them with what they need. The islands are smaller after all. He cares about everyone but no one more than his brother.”

“From what I heard Lyger sounds like the last kind of person who needs protection.” Soren stated to which Klein nodded “Indeed. But they are brothers and that means everything to them…”

Klein looked at Leah, mentally smacking himself “I’m sorry.”

Leah just nodded as Wyre struck the Knight again “Nice going. Lyger on the other hand is anything but calm. He displays his emotions in the open, all of them. When he is happy he is jovial and when he is angry…give him space. He’s the first to draw his weapon, the first to strike and the first to claim victory. Yuuten and Miina try to reign him in but when things need to be done, they let him off to proverbial leash to mop things up. I guess he has just a big a heart as Yuuten and is not afraid to express everything.”

“I’d like to meet him, see him in battle.” Klein looked at Mia “Really?”

“I think what she means is she’d like to challenge him.” Zihark stated.

Wyre whistled “You sure? He is twice your size maybe more…his weapon, Castle is bigger than you are.”

Mia brushed it off “I fought a big oaf with a big axe back home named Largo. Whooped him real good.”

“This she did do.” Soren stated

“You saw that?”

The sage nodded to Mia “Yeah, it was honestly quite amusing seeing the blowhard get flipped around by you. No offense to Largo.”

Mia laughed while Klein shook his head “I’d be surprised but I saw you fight. Truly impressive.”

Wyre cleared his throat “Anyway this brings us to Miina. She may be an older woman but she is just as tough as the other two. She can carry around Castle if need be granted her specialty is healing and fire magic. She’s like a mediator. Calming Lyger or inspiring more emotion and expression from Yuuten should the situation call for it. Without her the two would probably have broken a few more walls and tables than they currently have.”

“Live like brothers. Fight like brothers.” Klein finished “The Five Pieces work best together but it’s our ability to use Centra like a board and place ourselves where we are needed to most that makes our leadership work. We move where we have to be and should we move together, we do for all of Hitenticul.”

The group came to a stop outside a home. Klein knocked on the door “Just like we do now.”

* * *

_Road to Groopin_

“You didn’t have to tag along.”

Miina spat “Yes I did. If not who’s to stop you from charging into the open and beheading everything in sight?”

“Why would you want to stop me from doing that?” Lyger asked, shouldering Castle.

“Because we need information. We have to catch a vampire, we can’t just kill them all.”

Yuuten sighed “But will they talk?”

Lyger gripped his axe harder “I’ll make them!”

The three were currently on horseback, galloping towards Groopin hoping to find the vampires that were reportedly in the area.

“So Yuuten. You’re the plan guy…what’s the plan?”

The King looked to the Queen who wore a smile “Well. We need to find them. We need the element of surprise. Lyger has to disable one so go after it with all your might but only to maim, not kill.”

Lyger brandished Castle “You don’t need legs to live…and I’ve always wanted to chop those damn things’ wings off.”

Yuuten then looked back to Miina “We don’t have Wyre’s magic which has proved far more effective at taking them down than anything else but we have yours. At best it can hold them, prevent them from escaping.”

Miina winked “I’m on it…and Lyger, when you take a claw to the gullet, I’ll take care of it.”

“Bah! I won’t even feel it!”

* * *

_Elsewhere_

“Joker. Jack.”

“Ace. Where is everyone else?”

Ulyus turned “Taking care of very important matters. I have to know. Is everything set here?”

Jack nodded “Though I don’t understand why.”

“Jack. They have Klein Kruse with them.”

The vampire nodded as Kanahana spoke up “Though if he knew where we were, we would have been attacked a long time ago.”

Ulyus crossed his arms “This is true…but it is better to be prepared.”

“Well everything is ready. Just in case.”

“Good to know, Jack. The two of you will stay here…with any luck Diamond and Spade will return with more lessers for the coming…trials…”

* * *

_Elevated Vale, Quadnis_

“Boyd!”

“Mist!”

As the pair embraced, Ike approached Gatrie “Good to see you all, how you have been?”

“Relaxed beyond relaxed.”

Ike shook his head “Sorry to cut into that.”

Gatrie brushed it off “Don’t worry about it. It’s not really fair for us to be so comfortable while all of you are out there fighting human bats and land sharks.”

“That’s one way to put it.” Titania commented before noting Rolf and Oscar.

Gatrie looked around “Where is Shinon?”

“He and Uhnie are conducting a separate investigation into the smuggle and the Sharks.” Ranulf stated.

Gatrie nodded “Of course…he just isn’t giving up, is he?”

Titania smiled “Nope. Don’t think I’ve seen him that set on anything else.”

“By the way.” Rolf said pointing to Oscar and Titania “Where are your horses?”

“Left them at a stable in Unitt.” Titania answered. “I don’t think we’ll need them for this…if anything the vampires will just as easily go after them.”

Oscar shook hi shead “Not letting them get to my horse. We can handle ourselves.”

Rolf nodded “Of that I’m sure.”

Boyd walked past them, his arm around Mist before nodding to Ike “So. Fill us in. What exactly are these vampires like?”

Ike signaled for them all to follow “Well visually they look like people but with dead gray skin, razor sharp claws and teeth, dead eyes and massive wings making them capable of flight. We dropped in after Soren’s group took out most of them but the one I fought named Kanahana...he was fast and really tough, I don’t think he’s the kind to just give up in battle. He’ll keep coming at us until we cut his head off and all the others are probably the same in terms of determination. We have to be ready.”

Boyd nodded “Alright then. Let’s find them…and kick some ass.”

* * *

Soren closed his eyes, each of the witnesses told them which direction the thing flew off in. After a few seconds he opened his eyes “All three escaped that way.”

The group looked to southeast with Mia tapping Wyre “What’s over there?”

“After the city ends the mountains and forest.”

Klein brought a hand to his forehead “The cave.”

Everyone turned to him with Soren asking “What?”

“Where the forest meets the mountains. There is a cave at the base…hidden away by the dense trees. In there…they have to be in there.”

Zihark clapped his hands “Alright. Found em!”

Wyre shook his head “How would you know that? No expedition of the forests has turned up any such cave.”

“I know. For certain. That’s where they are.”

Soren started walking, followed immediately by Mia as the rest fell into step behind them. Wyre held a hand up and fired a bolt into the sky.

“Soren.”

He looked over to Mia, noting her concern “We’ll be fine…I’ll be fine.”

“How do you know?”

“Because you’ll be there with me Mia. You have my trust.”

Mia smiled on nodded “I won’t let you down.”

* * *

_Southern Dale, Groopin_

“Pick those up. If you survive…you are one of us.”

The three men looked at the blades before them then up to Nihil. They then looked at all the men in black surrounding them.

Two picked up their blades and stood then faced each other. After a bit of hesitation one yelled and charged forward, knocking the other blade aside forcing that man to run as the other pursued.

Nihil smirked before looking at the third “Well?”

He shook his head “I can’t kill someone.”

Nihil nodded “Okay.” He pulled out his blade and beheaded the man before he could say anything else.

The other two men kept fighting as dusk settled in around them. The clearing in the woods groaned as a breeze came through, all the leaves rustling.

Nihil swore he saw something odd.

“You four. Check the southern perimeter.”

They nodded and headed off as one of the men fell to the ground, sword in his chest.

Nihil walked up to the survivor who was looking at the man bleeding out before him “Welcome to the Sharks.”

“Sir!”

Nihil looked up as a clawed hand gripped a Shark’s throat and ripped it open.

“You. Blood seeking Sharks. We found you.”

Nihil snapped his fingers, the twenty Sharks around him pulled out their blades “You are the…things that interrupted my very important battle. I was secretly hoping you’d find us.”

The vampire smiled, removing its cloak “I am the Order of Rein’s Spade. You may call me Nekyu…you will be our lessers.” She licked her lips and charged forward, grabbing a Shark and taking to the sky as another vampire shot in from above, grabbing a Shark’s head and slamming it into the ground, smashing the skull open.

“And I am the Order of Rein’s Diamond. You may refer to me as Qeasu.”

“Kill them!” Nihil yelled, the Sharks roared in unison and charged Qeasu as he leapt and kicked one to the side before stopping two blades with his claws and snapping them. With the pieces in his hand he smirked before sinking them into the necks of the Sharks before him.

As they fell he jumped away from the other Sharks.

Nekyu landed near Nihil, hissing and slashing her claws. Flipping away he pulled out Vermilion “You aren’t flying away from here alive.”

Nekyu licked her lips “Ulyus is definitely going to want you as a lesser.”

“I am no one’s lesser!”

* * *

_Elevated Vale, Quadnis_

“There is nothing here.”

The group looked around as Wyre shook his head “Look at all the time you wasted for us Klein! A cave? Really?”

Soren shook his head, something wasn’t right. Klein was so certain. There had to be something here.

Ike joined them “Find anything?”

Mia shook her head, sighing “Not yet.”

Wyre ran a hand through his hair “We have to head up, they are probably in the mountains themselves as opposed to beneath them. It may take a while to organize a hike up them but…”

Klein stepped forward “No. It’s here. I know it.”

“Guys!”

The group headed over to Leah, standing near a massive boulder “I can feel something between this boulder and the rock face. I’m pretty sure it was placed here.”

Soren nodded “Then let’s get it out of the way.”

Klein looked at Wyre who sighed and pulled out a tome. Holding his hand up he fired a spark high into the air, it flashed and shot back down, ripping through the stone. The object fell apart revealing an entrance.

Zihark whistled “Called it good Klein.”

Soren looked back at the man as Wyre aksed “How?”

Klein shook his head.

“Guys!” Hearing Titania the group turned around as several vampires emerged from the trees and charged them.

“No you don’t!” Ike yelled swinging his blades, shockwaves knocked two aside as Titania pulled out her axe and charged into the fray followed by the rest of the Mercenaries.

Gatrie bashed one to the ground with his shield, leaving it open for Boyd to slam his axe into it while Rolf shot one of the flying ones in its wings.

It fell near Oscar who impaled it as Titania leapt past him and slammed her axe into another.

Soren looked to the entrance “They’re trying to hold us up. Kanahana and whoever his commander is-“

“Ulyus.” Klein stated, nodding when they faced him “Ulyus Rein is the Order’s Ace. He’s in charge.”

Before Wyre could ask again there was more screeching.

“Ike!” Soren called.

The man cursed “Go on in! We’ll be right behind you! Can’t let these guys ensnare us on both ends!”

“Are you sure? We don’t want to split up!” Zihark called back as Ike stabbed a vampire. Wyre swung his arm out, four bolts shot out into four separate vampires, flooring them.

Ike pulled his blade out of a vampire as Titania landed near him, striking another away. The commander called out “Their leader may very well be trying to leave, we can’t let him!”

Soren nodded, looking to Mia, Zihark, Leah, Klein and Wyre “We have to cut off the head. Take him out and the rest will fall apart. Klein. Wyre. I believe in your skills.”

Klein smirked “These things won’t get the best of me.”

Zihark spun his blade “Unlike last time, we’re not tired or worn out. We’re about to show these guys who they’re really dealing with.”

The Bishop sighed and nodded “Very well then…Ike, leave the interior to us. Join us as soon as possible!”

Ike cut down another vampire and yelled back “Go!”

Soren and Mia looked to each other, nodded and headed inside. Zihark tapped Leah’s shoulder “Come on!”

“What can I do?”

“You can find a crevice and hide or you can stand with us and see what its like to be brave! To be confident!”

“I-“

“Leah!”

The man sighed and nodded, following Zihark in with Klein and Wyre rounding out the group.

Oscar leapt away as a vampire crashed into the ground before him. Looking up the creature licked its lips “I am the Order of Rein’s Club…my name is Hiew.”

Oscar spun his lance “Things that take babies don’t deserve names.”

The creature screeched and tackled the silver knight to the ground.

Boyd ran over as another barreled into him and threw him across the forest floor. “And I am the Order of Rein’s Heart! I am Tukero!”

Rolf fired on Tukero who just laughed and took off into the canopy.

Ranulf shifted and bounced off a few trees before rolling into a ball and striking Tukero, knocking him out of the air.

Titania leapt over and swung her massive axe, narrowly missing Tukero as the vampire caught itself and flew away.

A vampire headed for her only for Ike to leap in front of her and stab it. He faced her “Partner.”

Titania smirked, spinning around to cleave another vampire, then looking at Ike “Partner.”

* * *

_Azure Edge, Theem_

Shinon looked up at the sky, “We have been using every hour of the day lately.”

“What do you expect?”

He shrugged as they walked through the main street “So how do we find someone who doesn’t want to be found?”

Uhnie shook her head “Not entirely sure. We don’t even know what he looks like. Probably should have asked for that at some point.”

Shinon chuckled “Yeah at some point.”

Uhnie came to a sudden stop, Shinon walked a few feet away before turning “Uhnie?”

He moved over to her quickly “Uhnie!”

She snapped out of her sudden trance and looked at Shinon as he asked “What’s wrong?”

A hand came up to the scar over her lip, the one Volke made. She shook her head “I’m not sure…”

“Hey. We’ll be fine. As for the rest of em? They’re all together, how many times do I have to say this?”

“I know. I know. I shouldn’t be feeling like this but I am…”

Shaking her head she started walking “If I want to help, we have to find Tohgum.”

She gestured around “We’re going to have to do this as basic as basic gets, ask around, find out about older dudes who moved in within the last seven months and if they rattled off anything about Thyremog. Anything.”

Shinon sighed, taking another look at the sky “This is gonna be a long night.”


	25. The Order

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Greil Mercenaries and the Five Pieces take on the Order of Rein on multiple fronts. (Featuring the Sharks.)

**Chapter 24 - The Order**

_Southern Dale Groopin_

A Shark screamed as a vampire bit into his shoulder. Releasing his victim the vampire turned around and tackled another Shark. Qeasu laughed as he flew through the chaos, grabbing a man and slamming him into a tree before throwing him away.

Vermilion struck the earth, Nekyu hopped away, giggling “Come on, there is more to a Shark than this, yes?”

Nihil yelled, charging her and swinging his blade. She practically danced out of range, laughing the whole way.

“You weren’t there when Kanahana bestowed his knowledge upon you…or were you?”

“I have nothing to talk about with your kind! You ruined everything for me!” Charging forward again he tried to stab her. She hopped onto the blade and kicked him in the face, his head snapped back and he stumbled as she flipped away.

“We don’t care about what you petty humans want. All that matters is what we want.”

Regaining his footing Nihil charged back in, blade whistling, narrowly missing its mark again. Grinding his foot into the earth, he swung it back, cutting across the vampire’s leg as it landed.

Hissing she leapt at him to kick him again, ducking under her leg the man sprung up again, cutting through one of her wings before leaping away.

“What is this?”

He spun Vermilion “I was the Skewer. That may not mean a lot to you but one of my best aspects was that I. Never. Quit. A cut here, a slash there…even being impaled won’t stop me. Blood is mine.”

“Blood is ours!”

In the trees surrounding the chaos Yuuten looked to Lyger, the latter narrowed his eyes “So what do we do?”

Yuuten pulled out Checkmate, Lyger smirked before bursting out of the tree “Behold!”

Landing, Castle practically split a vampire in half. Throwing the corpse off the weapon he roared “I am the Rook! Nothing can stop me as I charge forward!” Yelling he shot ahead, a vampire flew at him, throwing all his weight into his opponent, Lyger brought them both to the ground and felt countless bones snap under his and Castle’s weight.

Yuuten followed his brother shortly, using Checkmate to stop a vampire’s claw from goring a Shark. Spinning he knocked the vampire away as Miina emerged, her Flare II lit up the vampire causing it to screech and fly away.

Yuuten turned to the Shark to say something only for the man to try to gore him. Knocking the blade away he kicked the man aside “Are you serious?”

Not answering the man charged in. Stopping his weapon he spat “I am the King! My blade is law!”

Miina smiled as a vampire charged her, spinning around several runes flared around her before joining together and slamming against the vampire, igniting it. She turned to face another vampire that shot off into the sky.

Swinging her arms around, her books pages flared as a stream of fire surrounded her before shooting into the sky burning the vampire’s wings, causing it to crash to the ground. “I am the Queen…there is nowhere I can’t get you.”

* * *

_Elevated Vale, Quadnis_

“Titania!” The woman threw her axe, clipping an oncoming vampire, knocking him off target and sending him into the dirt. Ike thanked her before kicking his opponent away.

Tearing her axe out of the fallen creature she brought it crashing into it again. Tukero shot at her, knocking her to the ground before taking to the sky, laughing.

Ike swung his blades, the beams missing Tukero as he weaved through the canopy. “You were the one that got Kanahana eh?”

Ike turned as Hiew slammed into him, pushing him back.

Skidding to a halt Ike spun his blades and charged in, Alondite cutting into Hiew as he hopped away “I’ll take that as a yes.”

He turned to see Titania standing “You alright?”

She nodded “Yeah, no coward is gonna get the best of me.”

Hiew screeched as one of Rolf’s arrows struck his back, moving forward, Ike ran the beast through with Ragnell. Screeching it tore itself off the blade and took off.

Ike nodded to him as three more vampires landed near him, Titania jumped in, her axe cleaving off one of the beast’s arms. “We have to clear this all out!”

“I know!”

* * *

_Order of Rein HQ_

Wyre held his hand out, a small orb glowing, brightening the cave as they proceeded.

“I take it we won’t be getting an answer as to how you knew this was here any time soon eh?”

Klein sighed “No Wyre. Not yet.”

Soren said nothing of Wyre’s attempts to light the way, he could see just as clearly and he felt himself tense up.

“With all the vampires we saw outside, are we sure there are still some left?” Mia asked.

Leah shrugged “I hear about kidnappings everywhere…we never really guessed how many of them there were but why do they have so many? Are they building an army?”

Klein shook his head “No.”

“Oh, something else you know that you won’t explain to us?”

Mia held her hands up “Alright! Alright! No Five Pieces bitching in here, please?”

The two men muttered out low apologies before falling silent.

The path eventually opened up into a big room that was lit by torches.

Zihark cursed, everyone felt the same thing, there were scattered bodies all around, ripped open and bloodstains everywhere. The bodies were of all shapes and sizes as they were told before.

Wyre shook his head “Monsters.”

The group turned upon hearing laughter. Soren narrowed his eyes “Kanahana.”

Mia looked to him “You sure?”

“No question. That was him.”

The group headed that way with Wyre speaking “He knows we’re in here, he’s bringing us to him.”

“Good, we can kill him all the quicker.” Soren responded.

* * *

_Southern Dale Groopin_

Yuuten’s blade sliced a vampire’s head clean off. Swinging the blade, the blood flew off of it as another screech rang out. Yuuten dove aside as the vampire hit the ground “The King himself…what are you doing all the way out here?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Indeed. Well King, I’m the Order’s Diamond, Qeasu…I’ll be taking your head.”

Yuuten laughed and spun his blade “Very well, give it your best.”

Qeasu flashed towards him, Yuuten’s blade catching his claws as the King’s knee struck him in the stomach. Hopping away Yuuten spun his blade again, ducking under one of Qeasu’s claws.

Springing up he brought his elbow into the vampire’s chin snapping the creature’s head back before jumping and kicking it in the chest, knocking it away.

Spinning around, the King smiled “Is that all?”

Qeasu screeched and charged, as he clashed with the King again, Lyger fought off Sharks and Vampires, yelling as he did so.

“Is this all the lot of you have!” A blade entered his side, prompting him to swing around and grab the man “Nicely done!” Then he quickly snapped the man’s neck and threw the body away as Miina raised her staff, a powerful glow surrounding Lyger.

Gripping his axe tighter he spun around like a cyclone before releasing it, smashing a vampire with it. Kneeling down he charged towards his axe, easily knocking aside a Shark that tried to cut him off. Pulling his axe out of the body he pointed at a nearby vampire “You’re next!”

* * *

Nihil kicked off a tree leaping over Nekyu and rolling across the ground. Spinning around to slash at the oncoming enemy, barely missing as she flew off course. Hissing she flew in again, clipping his shoulder as he swung wide, cutting through one of her wings again.

“Why is it that I’m left fighting with the weaker sex? This is hardly a challenge.”

Nekyu landed in front of him “What?”

“Where is Kanahana? The man who talked down to us.”

“You’ll never see him, you die here!” Lunging at Nihil she buried a claw into his shoulder and spun in midair, swinging him around and throwing him against a tree. As the wind was knocked out of him she flew in and tackled him, the tree practically snapped as he was sent sailing.

Nekyu landed with the trunk falling behind her, stretching her arms she licked the blood off her claw. Nihil stood again, prompting her to cross her arms “Really?”

Spitting he smiled “What did I say? I’m not going down!”

* * *

_Elevated Vale, Quadnis_

Ranulf rolled into a ball, shooting across a clearing into a vampire. As the creature stumbled back from the impact, Gatrie stepped in and skewered it before turning and holding his shield up. The vampire bounced off the stout armor, an arrow entering the back of its skull.

As Rolf pulled back on his bow, preparing another shot, a vampire sprung up behind him, a beam from Florete knocked it towards Boyd who sunk his axe into its back and pinned it to the ground. Turning he gave a thumbs up to Mist who nodded.

Oscar ran by her, rolling aside as a vampire tried to grab him, spinning his javelin he launched it, sinking the weapon into the airborne Tukero who growled and followed the weapon’s path towards Oscar.

The silver knight leapt aside at the last second, sending Tukero into a tree.

Pulling itself out the vampire called “Hiew! I want them dead!”

Hiew evaded another strike from Alondite, trying to find a way in only for a beam from Ragnell to slice through his cover forcing him to keep on the move “Damn you human!”

Ike just laughed “What? This isn’t fair?”

Hiew hissed and flew at him, shooting up suddenly as Ike swung his weapons, as it shot down Titania ran over, sinking her axe into the ground she used it as leverage, lifting herself up and kicking Hiew in the side, throwing him to the dirt.

She landed next to Ike who took the opportunity to leap into the air. Hiew tried to roll aside, Alondite nearly missed him but Ragnell sunk into his chest, pinning him to the ground.

“Tukero! Tukero!”

The other vampire ignored him and flew off.

“Tukero!” He looked at Ike and spat.

“Is that really how you want to go out?”

“I am Hiew! The Order of Rein’s Club! I will not-“

Titania’s axe crashed into his face, smashing it apart all over the ground. The body jerked because of the impact before falling limp.

Throwing her head back to get her hair out of her face she turned to Ike “He was done.”

* * *

_Order of Rein HQ_

Stepping into another wide room, Soren could see what looked like a throne at the center but no one was there.

“Their leader must have left.”

Mia sighed “So they’re a legion of cowards…led by a coward.”

Zihark laughed “Pathetic.”

Kanahana stepped out from behind the throne “Cowards? My…don’t people love throwing that word around these days.”

Klein pulled out his spear “Kanahana!”

“Yes, yes. I am the Joker. Kanahana. Order of Rein. Blah, blah blah, you all knew that. I’m honestly surprised. Did you all miss me this badly?”

Zihark rolled his eyes “You tell us?”

“And give up the gimmick, Uhnie’s far better at that then you are.” Soren added.

Mia nodded “Yeah! Wait what?”

Kanahana laughed as another vampire stepped out from behind the throne, he had long black hair, covering his eyes but the same evil grin as Kanahana. He wore a heavy black robe and his wings extended out behind him. He sniffed the air “Well well…this is interesting.”

“Another one.” Zihark pulled out his Killing Edge.

“Yes. I am the Order of Rein’s Jack. Futarr. Our Ace, Ulyus Rein has a few very important matters to attend to so…he had to go…but he entrusts us to keep you all entertained.”

Soren brought up his tome “Why do you all want me?”

Futarr shrugged “Kanahana has Ulyus convinced you’re something special. You are interesting I’ll give the fool that but special? I don’t see it.”

“Get a haircut.” Zihark quipped, causing the vampire to laugh.

Kanahana snapped his fingers, a few vampires emerged from the shadows “You all may not realize it but you failed your first test. Consider this the retake.”

His blood red eyes regarded each of the people before him “Do not disappoint me again.”

As the vampires shot forward so did the Mercenaries. Leah pulled out his weapon but stood rooted to the spot. He looked down at his leg and tried to will it to move _“Not again…I will fight…I will!”_

Soren swung his arm out, a powerful gale tripped a vampire. Mia leapt over him, sinking her blade into the creature and pinning it to the ground. Another shot at her but was met by Zihark who grappled it and rolled to the ground. As Mia tore her Wo Dao out another headed her way before getting struck by an Arcwind and pushed away. Pursuing the enemy she cut through it as Zihark stood up and impaled his prey. Nodding to each other the pair proceeded with Soren following shortly behind.

Klein leapt forward goring an enemy before facing the others “I am the Knight! Protector of my Kingdom!” Ripping the lance out he kicked the vampire away, Wyre stepping next to him “I am the Bishop!”

Swinging his arm a powerful current shot out into the vampire Klein struck, burning a hole through it before proceeding and striking another vampire. “My justice is lightning.”

Hooking his spear to the chain, Klein took off, swinging it wide, the spear cut through the air, a vampire saw it coming and ducked, his comrade behind him didn’t, the weapon caught him and carried him through the air before slamming him into a wall.

Retrieving the weapon Klein proceeded forward as Wyre approached the wounded vampire, killing it with his magic.

Futarr and Kanahana looked to each other and nodded before joining the fray.

* * *

_Elsewhere_

Ulyus sat in a clearing, no one near for miles, eyes closed. Focusing he saw everything. The Five Pieces in combat far south, the twisted man, the powerful foreigners and…the prey.

Licking his lips he breathed in deeply and kept his mind open.

_“What is it that you have to hide?_

* * *

_Azure Edge, Theem_

Shinon sighed “Nothing…not a one.”

Uhnie shook her head “We just started, we can’t expect to get lucky every time.”

The pair leaned against the outer wall of a store. Shinon looked to see how tired Uhnie was “Hey. Let’s check into an inn.”

She faced him “Shinon. Take me to dinner first.”

“Uhnie…you’re exhausted.”

“And you were supposed to laugh at that.”

He sighed “I’m exhausted…we’ve been on task since we got here. Hunting down Ion Jack, following Soren and now looking for some old dude with our only hint being this!” Shinon gestured to the rock in his hand.

“You didn’t have to come along.”

He chuckled at that “Oh yes I did, the only thing worse than doing all this and barely catching a wink is thinking of you doing all this alone.”

She turned to face him “…really?”

“Really? Yes really! C’mon! Really? Uhnie, your part of the Mercenaries now, I won’t speak for the rest of them but I definitely think it’s only logical to worry about a comrade…to worry about a friend.”

She smiled “I guess your right…let’s find an inn. We’ll get around to more tomorrow.”

“Excuse me.”

The pair turned to see an old woman with Shinon speaking “Yeah?”

“Where did you find that?”

Shinon looked down at the rock in his hand “This? This is commonplace here, right?”

She nodded and started walking off until Uhnie cut her off “That one we found in the home of a man named Tohgum, in Wisin.”

The woman’s pale eyes met Uhnie “Are you telling the truth?”

“I have no reason to lie.”

She kept her eyes on Uhnie as Shinon muttered “It is the truth.”

Giving them a small nod she started walking. Uhnie gestured for Shinon to follow so he did.

* * *

_Southern Dale, Groopin_

Qeasu spat, wiping his lips. The vampire had many cuts all along his body.

Yuuten stood, poised and still, an arm behind his back and the blade aimed right at Qeasu. “Have you been firmly acquainted with Checkmate yet?”

Qeasu glared at the blade “I’m going to snap your twig in two!”

Yuuten smiled “Very well, give it your best.”

Qeasu flew in, diving below another swing before riping off a piece of Yuuten’s chest plate and flying away. Coming in from behind, the King back flipped over the attack, landing and swinging his blade to cut along the vampire’s arm and deflect the assault. Spinning around he swung his blade again, keeping the vampire at a distance.

“You know. While it’s impressive you can rip through armor with your bare…claws. You should all learn to wield weapons. With your enhanced strength you’d be a much tougher group of foes.”

Qeasu hissed “How would you know?”

Yuuten shook his head “You lot are pathetic. What happens next is for the families you’ve ripped apart and the pain you’ve caused.”

Qeasu launched towards him, sticking Checkmate in the ground, Yuuten jumped away from the blade as Queasu’s claw struck air. Taking another leap forward the vampire found its arm in Yuuten’s grasp.

Pulling the arm behind the vampire he snapped the creature’s elbow. Screeching it swung its other arm back, Yuuten ducked under it, rolling back around as he called out “Where are you?’

The vampire hissed turning to face him “What!?”

Jumping Yuuten kicked Qeasu in the chest, the vampire fell back, right into Checkmate, splitting the creature’s head in half.

Yuuten looked at the shocked face of the dead creature “Mind your place on the battlefield.”

* * *

Nekyu struck Nihil again but this time he didn’t even fall over, just stumbled back. “You’ll not make a mockery out of me!”

The vampire noted that the combat behind her was growing lighter, it was almost time.

She sighed “I had fun with you human.”

Nihil aimed Vermilion “Did you?”

Nekyu flashed behind Nihil and sunk her teeth into his neck. The man yelled as she pulled away and licked her lips, stumbing forward he grabbed the wound and coughed.

“You…bitch!”

Nekyu crossed her arms, her smug grin vanished as Nihil turned to face her “What are you?”

“I’m a Shark!” He screamed before charging her and swinging Vermilion with all his might. Even as the vampire flashed she felt the blade cut through her. In anger she stepped back to Nihil and sunk her teeth into the other side of his neck. Spinning Vermilion, Nihil ran himself through, the blade cutting through Nekyu as well.

As she pulled away grasping her wound she spat “You’re insane!”

Nihil fell to his knees, tearing the blade out of him and tossing it aside. He turned, his cold glare unsettling Nekyu.

Spitting she tried to fly away but her wings were too damaged “Ulyus wanted you. Kanahana said someone of your stature would be strong with us. I guess we’ll never know.”

Nihil tried to stand but failed, holding the ground with his hands and coughing blood.

Snapping her fingers she let out a loud, ear breaking screech before flashing away.

Nihil closed his eyes and started laughing before falling to the ground. The laughs eventually faded into chuckles then silence.

* * *

Lyger, Yuuten and Miina covered their ears as a loud screech came from elsewhere. “What the fuck?” the Rook spat.

A body twitched, Yuuten raised an eyebrow “You kill that one Lyger?”

“No.”

“Miina.”

“Nope.”

Another body twitched, then another, another. Wings tore out of many of the bodies of the fallen Sharks. The black cloaked, blade wielding new vampires screeched and shot into the night sky.

Lyger cursed again as Yuuten shook his head “This isn’t good.”

* * *

_Order of Rein HQ_

“Not this time you son of a bitch!” Zihark yelled landing near Kanahana and slashing him. The vampire just laughed and shot forward, his palm striking Zihark’s chest and throwing him across the room.

“I am Kanahana. I do what I want and I get what I want.”

Mia spun her blade and stood across from him.

“Oh the girl…I’m so frightened.”

Narrowing her eyes, the grip on her Wo Dao tightened “You won’t get to Soren.”

“If I recall I did last time and would have taken him too if not for his last minute improvisation. You were about as useful as…well…you weren’t useful at all.”

“You’re right. I couldn’t stop you last time. But that was last time. This time.”

She aimed her blade at Kanahana, the vampire saw the anger flood her eyes.

“I’m going to rip your fucking head off!”

Mia flashed and ran forward, Kanahana noted two blades coming his way _“Wait…two?”_

Avoiding them both he swung around, his leg went through Mia as she appeared behind him cutting through his side. He leapt away, noting her behind him again, in response he flew farther off. Now he was definitely facing only one Mia.

_“How is she doing that?”_

Leah watched in awe _“No way.”_

Soren smirked, turning his attention to the vampire’s harassing Klein and Wyre he summoned a gale and pulled them away. Mia was no longer letting hate guide her sword, she was but powering it with her anger, using it as a weapon. He knew she had this.

Klein killed another vampire as Wyre leapt past him landing near Soren “We’ve got to thin them out.”

Soren nodded and opened a tome, the air around him shifted green “Hope you put as much time into your aim as your hair.”

Wyre chuckled “We’ll see.”

Klein stood across from Futarr “Well…Klein Kruse. I had a feeling you’d be here.”

“You knew I’d be here.”

“Yeah. This’ll be fun.”

The vampire shot into the air as Klein’s spear shot out. The Knight pulled it back in time to use the weapon’s blunt end and strike Futarr’s arm. Spinning in midair the vampire skidded across the ground and charged forward, arms enclosing around Klein’s torso. He shot off across the chamber, slamming Klein into a wall before taking off again.

Tearing out of the wall, Klein shook his head “That all?”

Laughing Futarr launched himself towards Klein, striking the ground as the Knight dove away and rolled to his feet. Spinning his spear he shot it at the Jack who caught it and used his strength to drag Klein to him. Leaping he kicked the Knight in the face, before reeling his arm back and slamming his open palm into his chest plate, cracking it and throwing Klein to the ground.

“It is amazing that you still have such strength, Klein Kruse.”

Spitting the Knight stood as Futarr threw his spear to the ground “We knew you hated us but the type of hate you’d need to fight like this…its impressive.”

Klein took an unarmed stance “My only desire is to see your species eradicated.”

Futarr laughed and shot at him, Klein stepped away from a claw before punching the vampire in the stomach. Futarr’s other arm caught Klein and flipped him around, the Knight buried his feet into the ground and used the leverage to flip Futarr away instead.

Catching himself in midair Futarr grappled Klein to the ground. Using one hand to keep the gnashing teeth away from him, he wound his other fist back and slammed it into the side of Futarr’s face.

“Leah!” The man turned as a vampire screeched, a blade ripping through its mouth.

“Z-Zihark.”

“Leah…come on…we have to do this. Together. That’s what this is all about right?”

“Together…” Leah smiled “That’s what the very history of Hitenticul is about. Uniting together.”

Zihark put a hand on his shoulder “I know you’re not confident. That’s fine. But you have every reason to be confident, you have raw skill, you can fight. Use it.”

“I-“

“Just follow my lead. I said I’d teach you so I’ll lead by example.”

Charging in, Zihark swung his blade, knocking a claw away before ducking under the other, springing up he slashed the vampire across the chest. Another flew at him from the side cutting his arm. Spinning about the Daein trueblade cut through its wing. As it screeched and jumped away he turned to his first opponent kicking it away before spinning his blade. _“Good distance.”_

Zihark charged forward, lightning fast. The vampire swung through a phantasm as Zihark dropped in from above, cutting the vampire from the right shoulder to its left side.

The body fell to the ground as Zihark called out “This is how we fight!” Turning Zihark was tackled from another vampire, rolling around he kicked it off him “This is how we survive!”

Mia slammed against a wall, Kanahana screeching before shooting at her, his claw embedded in the wall where she was.

_“Why is she so much faster now?”_

He looked behind him as she cut through him. “What cowardice is this!?” Kanahana grabbed her and flew into the air, slamming her into the ceiling. Getting close to her face he screeched “What are you doing!?”

Pushing herself off she fell to the ground he shot after her as she flashed, this time he saw three Mia’s. He hit the ground as two vanished and one slashed through his arm. Spinning around he struck her hard, leaping and kicking her in the back.

As she stumbled away she turned to face him, spitting blood on the floor.

“What’s with that look?”

There was anger in her eyes but a smile on her face. “Despite the fact that you’re the worst kind of scum I can’t help but enjoy a good fight. It’s been a long time.”

“Heh, so you’re like that eh?”

Mia spun her blade “At least I don’t let my tendencies control me. I control them. It doesn’t matter how much I enjoy the battle if a friend needs help I can break away. I’m a human. Not a weapon.”

Kanahana laughed “Then I’ve clinched this victory. I’m not a human and I’m not a weapon. I’m a fucking monster!”

Kanahana barreled into her and rolled across the ground before kicking her off and through the air. Correcting herself she landed on her feet, holding her blade up to catch Kanahana’s claws as he screeched at her again.

“Now!” A green tornado swept wide, the airborne vampires were taken by the powerful gales as Wyre swung his arm about “Brave Bolt!”

Four sparks shot into the storm, striking several of the immobilized vampires. Spinning around, Wyre unleashed another volley.

Soren turned as a vampire charged him, Zihark fell upon it before being tackle by another. The vampire stood and shook itself off, Leah ran in screaming, slashing the vampire.

Turning it screeched at Leah who yelled back and ran his blade through it. Breathing heavily he barely managed to kick it off his blade.

He looked to Soren who just nodded. Seeing Zihark kick a vampire off him and get slammed by another pair, Leah gripped his blade and headed in that direction.

_“I’m going to do whatever I can! No matter how little it is! I have to!”_

* * *

_Elevated Vale, Quadnis_

Tukero, floating in the air cursed as another vampire met its end. Together they landed quite a few blows against the Mercenaries but not enough to ground any of them.

His eyes moved to the cave entrance “Are they-“

_“Heart.”_

Gripping his forehead the vampire nodded “Ace…what is it?”

_“Spade is on her way to the designated spot. Go.”_

“Joker? Jack?”

_“They’ll do their job, you do yours.”_

The voice left him, Tukero shook his head and nodded again.

“Hey!”

He looked down to see Boyd “Come down here and face me like a man!”

“There is no benefit to that.” Screeching Tukero shot off into the night.

Boyd sighed, shouldering his axe and turning to Ike as the man tore Ragnell out of another body “Is that all of them?”

Ranulf sniffed the air “Just the smell of dead…I’m pretty sure we’re done.”

Titania nodded “If there were any others they probably left too.”

Boyd gestured to Hiew’s corpse “I’m guessing they didn’t want to end up like that.”

Ike pointed to the cave as Mist walked over to him and examined his arm “We have to go help Soren.”

Gatrie joined them “Assuming they left anything for us to help them with.”

With that the Mercenaries entered the cave, to back up their allies.

* * *

_Elsewhere_

“Master Ulyus.”

The vampire opened his eyes to see Nekyu and a new group of lessers behind her. He tilted his head “The leader.”

She sighed “He wouldn’t submit. I tried but…”

Ulyus closed his eyes “It matters not. The ones we have here will work…Qeasu and Hiew have fallen. That only makes the Ultimatum more valuable to all of us. Remember that.”

Nekyu nodded, “What about Kanahana?”

“What about him.”

“You know how he is…”

Ulyus smirked “Indeed. It’s why I keep him close. Don’t worry about him, take the new lessers. We’re nearly done.”

* * *

_Azure Edge, Theem_

Opening the back door to an old home, the woman gesture the pair inside before closing the door.

Shinon and Uhnie froze in shock as a man looked up to them.

The marksman raised an eyebrow “Neteau? Is that you?”

“Shinon? Uhnie? Why did you bring them here Zaya?”

The woman they followed smile “Because they are here to help Tohgum.” She walked by Neteau and tapped the floor.

“What are you doing here Neteau?”

The soldier gestured to the woman “I went to her home in Unitt, she left a note there that she was here. I did come all this way to let her know about Yatno.”

“Ah my poor cousin…at least he died as he lived…honorably.”

Before Uhnie could ask anything a floor panel opened revealing a man in his late thirties though he looked far older than that and very tired.

He had a scraggly black beard and messy hair atop his head. His clothes were also fairly dirty “Did you get my stuff washed I’m starting to stink…”

He noted the two strangers “Who are they?”

“You’re Tohgum? Thyremog Crew Captain?”

The man nodded slowly “Zaya…what’s going on?”

“They’re looking for you, they know that the rest of your crew has been killed and they have your stone. You do have it, right?”

Shinon pulled it out “Of course.”

Tohgum sighed “You were right again Zaya…I really should learn to stop doubting you.”

Neteau chuckled “I know that feeling all to well.”

As Zaya nodded, Uhnie took a step forward “We’ve learned that the entirety of your crew is gone, most likely murdered. We’re here to find out why.”

Tohgum sighed before sitting down “It’s a long story.”

“Honestly, we came all this way for a long story…feel free to start at any time.”

“Seven months ago when I arrived here in Hitenticul…I was very angry. We all knew ahead of time of course but…we were the last load of people from Thyremog who would be coming to Hitenticul for a long time. We felt stranded here…lost…there were many days I wanted to go home but knew it was impossible.”

“Because of the smuggle.” Shinon stated.

Tohgum sighed “I remember Barbyos attacking the port the day we were leaving but the whole trip from Thyremog here, my crew never saw anything out of place. Any additional people on the ship or…anything…”

Shinon crossed his arms “There had to be, Barbyos smuggled some guys onto your ship! How could you make the whole trip from Thyremog to Hitenticul without finding something odd? Where is you’re ship?”

Tohgum shrugged “We sold it a few days after arriving here. It could be anywhere. Headed back to Thyremog, off to Zatuo or even-“

“Come on! You’ve got to give us something!” Shinon yelled “You’re hiding out here you have to know something!”

Zaya motioned for Shinon and Uhnie to sit “Please calm down…these months he’s spent in hiding have been trying…”

Shinon glanced over at Neteau “Did he tell you anything?”

The soldier shook his head “Nothing that could help…”

Zaya took in a deep breath “I’ll start…you see I woke one night with a start. Something bad was coming…I wasn’t sure where to but I knew something was going on…and it felt like it was tied to my home so I decided to make the trip to Wisin to check in on the last Thyremog crew. As a precaution. I hoped nothing had happened…I would eventually find Tohgum and give him my warning. He knew something was up but he wasn’t sure if running into hiding was the right move at the time. Took a bit to convince him…”

Tohgum nodded “She’s right…it just…everything happened so slowly. Every day since I got here, me and some of the crew would go to bars, get drunk and bitch about being stuck here…just to let it all out until one day. One of them didn’t show up. The next day two more of them were missing. Eventually, one night I showed up at the bar alone…I went to their homes and no one answered their doors. I asked one of the other men, a kind one who didn’t drink if he knew what happened. He said nothing. I didn’t like talking to strangers but I eventually asked my neighbor if he saw anything. He said that one when he spotted a friend of mine, he knew him because he headed to the bar at the same time on the dot and they shared greetings. He said that my friend was approached by a stranger in armor…maybe a city guard and after a chat they walked off together. I asked what he looked like and this is what they told me: bright.”

“Bright?” Uhnie and Shinon faced each other.

Tohgum nodded “Bright, his armor was well polished, his cape shined as did his hair. Everything about this man was…bright.”

“Silver?”

Tohgum looked to Uhnie “Basically…yeah…”

Uhnie turned to Shinon who closed his eyes “Son of a bitch.”

* * *

_Order of Rein HQ_

Another kick from futarr threw Klein to the ground, near his spear. “Klein!” The Knight stood up quickly, grabbing his spear and noting Soren “I’m fine! I’m fine!”

Futarr laughed “You won’t be!”

He flew in as an Arcwind gale surrounded him, twisting his wings and sending him to the ground. Klein cleared the distance and swung his spear, ripping through one of the vampire’s wings.

Jumping away the creature cursed. “Now it’s fair!” Klein called, spinning his spear.

Futarr leapt away again as four bolts crashed near him. Spotting Wyre he hissed “Spineless mages! Face me!”

“That’s what we intend to do!” Wyre called back unleashing more bolts as Futarr weaved through the air and landed near Soren. The sage buffeted him with a powerful gale, as the creature block its eyes Soren pulled out his blade and cut through him.

Jumping away Futarr hissed, looking to the side as Klein tackled him.

Zihark rolled across the ground, striking a vampire’s leg. Standing he swung around cutting across another’s chest. A third raked its claws down his back. Turning he caught its arm before it could strike again “You’ll die here foreign man!”

Leah jumped in, sinking his blade into the vampire’s back “Get away!”

The vampire tore away from Zihark allowing the man to avoid the incoming two. Leah lost his grip on Cerulean and fell to the ground as the vampire ripped it out of his back and threw it aside.

“You want to fight boy? Fight us!?”

Standing he shook his head “No! But I have to!”

The vampire laughed “Then this is where you die!” Shooting towards Leah, the man threw himself to the ground again, holding one of his legs out he caught the vampire and kicked back, throwing the creature away.

Hitting the floor he rolled over as quickly as he could and scrambled to pick up Cerulean. The vampire returned hissing before shooting at him again, Leah held the blade up to stop its claws “What now boy!? What now!?”

The vampire shot his knee into Leah’s stomach repeatedly until he lost grip and fell to his knees. Winding his arm up, the vampire slashed Leah across the face and threw him to the ground.

“Is this all?”

Zihark roared, landing near them and stabbed the vampire “No! It isn’t! Leah!” The man clenched his fists and shot to his feet, sinking his blade into the vampire as well. The pair kicked the creature away, letting the body hit the floor and fall limp.

Leah was breathing hard “I’m trying…”

“I know. Stick with me.”

 _“Why are there four of her?”_ Kanahana dove aside as a phantasm vanished, feeling a blade tear through his back.

_“Focus you idiot only one is real, only one gives off a scent.”_

Kanahana sneered as the four launched at him, grabbing Mia’s neck he laughed “You’re a fast bug but a bug nonetheless.”

Mia glared at him as he took her Wo Dao and threw it aside. He then sunk his claw into her torso “Your blood may actually be useful.”

He jumped and threw her into the ground, laughing.

As she turned on her side and coughed she asked “Why do you want…our blood?”

Kanahana looked back at her “Because out there is blood that can be used to create Ultimatum.”

Mia stood weakly “What?”

Kanahana twitched a bit, feeling pain in his head he shook it off “Apparently that was more than I was allowed to say. Either way, I’m through with you.”

Mia grabbed her blade “No! You’re not!”

As Kanahana extended his wings, Mia shot forward and cut through one. Hissing he struck her along the arm before leaping and kicking her in the face. As she stumbled back she shook it off in time to see his fist coming.

Knocking her to the ground he laughed only to be cut off by Futarr slamming into him.

Klein, Wyre and Soren appeared with the sage kneeling near Mia “You alright?”

“I will be…I’m not done with him yet!”

Kanahana pushed Futarr off him “Klein. Come crawling back to us?”

The Knight spat “Never.”

Wyre looked at him, he wanted to ask the questions even if the situation didn’t call for it.

Futarr and Kanahana nodded to each other before screeching. As their enemies gripped their heads, Futarr shot forward, grabbing Wyre and Klein by the throats and slamming them into the ground before dragging them across the floor.

Kanahana shot towards Soren, a blade knocking him aside “I’m getting really sick of this!”

Mia nodded as she flashed green “So am I!”

Kanahana noted five of her around him “This again? I can figure this out no matter how many of you there are!”

The first shot at him, he easily avoided it as the second one slashed across his back, a green flash was given off.

“What? The first one…but the scent-“

The third and fourth leapt off and slashed a massive green X across him throwing him to the ground.

“They’re all…real?” He stood as the fifth flew past him, slashing his side open.

Gripping it he looked to the first one as she dashed at him, moving to the side as quick as he could he felt her blade rip into his right arm and slice through his bone. He then felt his flesh tear and screeched as he hit the ground.

The green glow faded away from Mia as she smirked.

Kanahana stood up and looked at his wound, laughing “Well done woman. Well done.”

Futarr flew away from Klein’s spear, hand coming to his head as he heard a voice.

“But-“

Shaking his head he flashed over to Kanahana and picked him up before taking off. Soren and Mia pursued only for a few more vampires to cut him off.

Wyre stood slowly, shaking himself off. He noted Futarr and Kanahana about to enter a tunnel. Focusing, runes appeared around him and he held his hand out. A stream of electricity shot out across the room and pierced Futarr who coughed up blood as he vanished into the darkness with Kanahana.

The few vampires left spotted Ike’s group entering the chamber and took off into the darkness as well.

* * *

_Road to Unitt_

Lyger, Miina and Yuuten once again on horseback were returning to the Stronghold. Yuuten thought back to the new weapon wielding vampires, he knew this was a very bad thing.

Miina sighed “Ah, well…at least we managed to clear out most of them.”

“Only for more to just get up and fly away. If they have this many why aren’t they going to war with us?”

Yuuten shook his head at Lyger “Do you want that? Can you imagine that?”

“They might as well be at war with us already, at least then they’d only be taking soldiers and not children!”

Yuuten sighed as a hawk screeched overhead, dropping a note with Lyger.

Miina raised an eyebrow “What’s this? They’ve almost always been exclusive to Yuuten.”

Lyger just chuckled “Maybe people are realizing that the Rook is what wins them most the games.”

Yuuten rolled his eyes as Lyger opened the message, his amused expression shifting to one of anger and frustration as he continued reading.

Miina leaned in “What’s wrong?”

“We’ve been invaded! Just like Thyremog the one we least expected!”

Lyger looked up at Miina “Klein Kruse is one of the men smuggled here from Thyremog. He murdered the crew who brought him here to cover our tracks!”

Miina shook her head “No way.” Lyger looked back to Yuuten “Can you believe this?”

The Rook saw the look on his brother’s face. There were many emotions, but no shock. Hopping off his horse he grabbed Yuuten and threw him to the ground.

Miina dismounted and approached him “Lyger! What are you doing!?”

“You knew didn’t you? You knew!”

Yuuten looked up to Lyger and nodded. Before the King could say anything, Lyger's fist met his face.

* * *

_Elsewhere_

“Let me go!” Kanahana stumbled away from Futarr, grasping his stump “That bitch. That…BITCH! I wasn’t done with her Futarr! You had no right!”

Futarr leaned against a tree “Ulyus’ orders…believe me if not for him I would’ve left you to rot.”

“This anger…she will get what she deserves.”

Futarr clutched his wound, chuckling “She’ll kick your ass again…stop overestimating yourself.”

Kanahana narrowed his eyes, turning away “Is Ulyus still watching?

Futarr shook his head “He’s got everything he needs…except what we came here for because you let that woman stop you.”

Kanahana remained silent as Futarr chuckled “You underestimated all of them. Again. It’s no wonder you were given the Joker designation. You’re a fraud.”

Kanahana spat “At least we know…the Ultimatum is close.”

Futarr laughed “So? Once we have it you can bet your pathetic ass no one is going to vouch for you. You don’t deserve even a drip of it.”

“I know.”

Futarr smiled “Good to hear…now-“

Kanahana charged towards the other vampire and gripped his neck before ripping the creature’s throat out.

Futarr grasped the wound, gagging in shock before falling to the ground.

“But…if there are less of us…then there is more for me.”


	26. Truths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is Klein a murderer? A vampire? The truth comes out...

Chapter 25 - Truths

_Azure Edge, Theem_

Shinon reentered the home as Uhnie yelled at Zaya “You’re a psychic! How could you not notice the danger that Klein Kruse poses to all of us? He is serving as one of the leading figures of this land for fuck’s sake!”

Zaya sighed “I felt the evil from Wisin…that’s why I went there. It grew stronger once I neared Tohgum so I told him he had to leave Wisin or else. I helped hide him here and kept him out of sight. As I’m sure you’re aware the Order has been everywhere, pinpointing any negative thoughts would be nigh impossible.”

Shinon put a hand on Uhnie’s shoulder “I sent the message to the Pieces…specifically to Lyger. From what I know he’ll get things moving faster than any of the others.”

Uhnie nodded to Shinon before facing Tohgum “Anything else you can tell us?”

“I’m afraid that’s all…but now that you know.”

Uhnie turned to the marksman “We have to head back to Unitt, get with the others and interrogate this guy. Find out what else he’s been lying about.”

Shinon nodded “Though it’s going to take quite a while to get to Unitt from here.”

“I have horses I can lend you.” The pair looked at Neteau “It’ll be faster than a carriage.”

Tohgum spoke up “Now that we know this, am I safe?”

Shinon shrugged “We can’t be certain. There may have been others and we need to hear from Klein Kruse where they went.”

“I hope you can all get this figured out.”

Uhnie looked at Neteau “Don’t worry. We will.”

* * *

_Elevated Vale, Quadnis_

“I think there is something you have to tell us all Klein.”

The Knight stood, facing Wyre and the Greil Mercenaries.

The Bishop crossed his arms “They are all very familiar with you…why?”

Klein sighed “I was…one of them.”

Wyre shook his head “Unbelievable.”

“What do you mean you were?” Klein looked at Soren, Wyre cutting off the Knight.

“Does it matter? You’ve been going around kidnapping innocent people? Doing who knows what to them and acting like you want to stop them at the same time?”

“No! I’m not...I-“

Wyre grabbed the man by the collar and slammed him into a wall “Babies! Klein! Babies! What is wrong with you?”

Klein sighed “We have to meet with the Pieces.”

Ike crossed his arms “You really should just tell us now.”

“I know…I know…but this is…I may as well tell everyone at the same time. Let’s return to Unitt. The vampires are gone again, we have to regroup anyway.”

Ike looked to Soren “What should we do?”

The sage sighed “It’s late…we’re exhausted. Let’s rest here and leave for Unitt in the morning.”

Wyre gestured to Klein “And if he vanishes in the night? What then?”

“I won’t.”

“To be fair.” Klein looked to Titania “We really can’t trust anything you say to us right now.”

The Knight nodded “I’m aware…but I won’t be leaving. I will explain everything when we’re back in the Stronghold. My word means nothing but you have it.”

* * *

_Quadnis Inn_

As Soren suggested the Mercenaries found an inn to stay at, to rest and prepare. Their work was far from done.

Sitting on his bed Soren shook his head. He wasn’t sure which was worse, dealing with a political nightmare or a cult with their sights directly on him. He heard a knock at his door and stood. He just didn’t feel as exhausted as he should be. Sighing he walked over to the door and opened it to see Klein.

“What?”

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For not telling or saying anything sooner…”

Soren crossed his arms “Every part of me was telling me I should let everyone know but…I know what it’s like to hold a damning secret in.”

“Soren…I want to tell you specifically that the Order means nothing to me. I will kill them for what they’ve done to everyone…whatever they’re planning for you, they won’t do it. I swear.”

With that the man walked away.

Closing the door he sighed before noting his sending stone, it was giving off a faint glow. Raising his eyebrow he grasped it.

_"Soren?"_

"Hey Micaiah…been a while."

_"Yeah. Well I finally found my friend and have been filling him in on everything so…"_

"Thank you."

_"…can I ask one quick thing Soren?"_

The sage nodded to himself "Sure…what is it?"

_"When I asked about how everyone is. Ike, Titania, all the Mercenaries…I don't know if you know but you spent…quite a bit of time talking about Mia."_

Soren narrowed his eyes and thought back. Shortly after he first got in contact with Micaiah on the trip from Thyremog to Hitenticul she had indeed asked how everyone else was fairing. She was happy to hear nothing had changed much but greatly amused at hearing about Shinon's latest interest.

But did he really?

_"Soren. I'm sure you know that I am not judging. I am married to Sothe after all. I just wanted to know if…there was anything there but…well…it's none of my business."_

Soren tried to say something more but couldn't think of anything. Shaking his head he sighed "It's fine…I've been prone to…thinking about her too much as of late and I'm watching what I say but I guess I shouldn't be surprised anything slipped out."

_"Well. I hope everything works out…hm?"_

"What?"

_"Oh yes…here."_

Soren stood in silence before a voice returned. A different one.

_"Soren."_

"Is this…Stefan?"

_"Yes. After Micaiah told me about everything that was going on with you I visited all the people in my community to get their thoughts on the matter._

"…and…what do you have?"

_"While we only have Micaiah who is probably the sole living Heron Branded I'm fairly certain only Heron can access the power of Sacrifice."_

"Alright…and?"

_"So. Logic dictates somewhere down your family tree was another interspecies union between a Beorc and a Heron Laguz."_

Soren opened his mouth to speak but stopped.

_"You probably want to know if that's possible. Well there was a similar instance with one of the Cat Branded here. He said he was capable of flight in his youth like a Hawk Branded but after every session bones in his arms and back would break. It's entirely possible we can perform the actions but they are highly dangerous. When you fell into a coma it wasn't a result of the black flames but rather Sacrifice. Though that isn't to say the black fire wasn't partially responsible."_

"So what you're saying is I can do it but I shouldn't."

_"Basically. You are forcing your power to shift into something unnatural, something old from who knows how many generations back. It's clear why that affected you in such a way. Have you used it since?"_

"No. Micaiah suggested to keep that and my black fire usage to a minimum until she had reliable information."

_"Well, that's good then."_

Soren clenched his open fist "But if another of my friends is in such a situation, I won't hesitate to save them."

_"Soren. Would you really kill yourself for someone else?"_

Instantly Soren thought of Mia "If it came down to that…thank you for telling me this Stefan."

_"I would like to reiterate that your body still needs to get used to the Branded Fire so I suggest practicing. Start small and go from there…full on attacks will do just as much harm."_

"Right." Soren breathed in and focused on his fingers, snapping a small flame lit up. After a few seconds he willed it away.

_"Though I do have an additional theory."_

Soren remained silent as Stefan took a breath  _"It is possible that the powers can come together the do something…not wholly unique but maybe something…better."_

"How so?"

_"I'm not sure, it's just a theory…the Cat Branded stopped flying or trying to years ago. The pain wasn't worth it but…there has to be something there…being Branded isn't immediately guaranteed through your parents. The odds of Heron blood from generations before coming to light with Dragon blood is very…very rare but all things considered it is a possibility."_

"How will I know what I can do with it?"

He heard Stefan sigh at that  _"I wish there was a way to tell…but only you can feel what's in your body and only you can directly influence it. You can master the black flames on their own…they sound very effective."_

The sage silently decided that would be the best way to go about it. He saw Mia's concern when he woke up after using his powers against Barbyos. So much relief, she must've really believed she lost him.

_"One other thing…Soren."_

"Yeah?"

_"I couldn't help but overhear and this may not be my place and may also not be something you want to hear but…I don't think falling in love with a Beorc is a good idea."_

"…what?"

_"There is a lot wrong with it, Soren."_

The sage couldn't help but laugh "Are you serious? You of all people have issues with who others choose to love? What's gotten into you Stefan?"

_"I'm serious Soren. This isn't just about your blood or Ashnard. You'll outlive this person. All that will come from this is pain and suffering…you've had enough of that all your life."_

Soren opened his mouth to speak, Stefan had a point. If anything ever came of his feelings, it'd eventually be forced to end…and who knows how long he'll live alone.

_"Soren!"_

"Micaiah?"

_"Don't listen to Stefan! If you really love her and you choose to ignore it, to live alone. You'll regret that for your whole life. The feeling will never go away…take the time to love now and make the most of it. I speak from experience, trust me, it is completely worth it."_

Soren sighed, his mind was running the pros and cons of both arguments, shaking his head he nodded "Thank you Micaiah…and thank Stefan for his help."

_"Of course…live your life Soren. Above everything."_

As Soren released a heavy sigh another question came to mind "Actually. There is something else I have to ask of you Micaiah."

_"Yes?"_

"Did you know that Volke was a Branded?"

"… _yes…he pulled me aside before we entered the Tower of Guidance and asked me not to tell anyone. He was the last person I expected to be ashamed of it. Though he assured me shame had nothing to do with it. Either way, I told him I would never just say something like that aloud. I asked about his parents though and…"_

There was a small laugh before she continued  _"He smiled."_

Soren couldn't help but smile "That's great to know…anyway…I know this is asking a lot but if possible I'd like to speak with him."

" _That is asking a lot but I'll see what I can do."_

"Micaiah…if a Branded were to share his blood with another. Beorc. Laguz. What do you think would happen?"

There was a long silence. Soren almost put the stone away when  _"Did someone do this? Are you considering-"_

"It's just…hypothetical."

" _I'm not sure…is it alright if I bring this to Stefan? Get his opinion?"_

"Yeah and thanks for helping. Truly. Get back to Daein and get some rest. I honestly feel a little bad asking you to go all over Tellius."

Micaiah laughed at that  _"It's alright Soren. We're kin. I'll get back to you with what I get. What time is it over there?"_

"Well, I definitely should have been sleeping a few hours ago."

" _Well then get to it. Goodnight Soren."_

Putting the stone away he whispered "Kin…"

* * *

Blinking slowly, Leah sat up. He was freezing.

Turning he spotted his open window _“I…I didn’t…”_

Eyes widening he reached over and grabbed his cloak but stopped before putting it on.

_“What am I doing?”_

Slipping it on he stood up and found his shoes, grabbing Cerulean he took a deep breath _“Leah. Seriously. What are you doing? If this really is what you think it is, what are you going to do? Everyone is going to wake up in the morning and find you dead in a ditch. But I have to…”_

Turning he closed the window.

“But I don’t have to be alone.”

Exiting his room he jumped “Mia!”

She held up a finger, dressed in light clothes and with a rather tired expression _“Why are you up, Mia?”_

_“I can’t sleep…I close my eyes and just lay there so I’m walking around to see if I can wear myself out…what about you? Going out to train? I’d suggest waiting till dawn.”_

As she yawned he gave a nervous chuckle _“Don’t worry about it…you should turn in.”_

She nodded and started walking away _“Actually. Mia.”_

She looked back and muttered a low _“Hm?”_

Leah approached her _“That thing you did against Kanahana…what was that?”_

Sighing, Mia made a few gestures with her hands before talking _“Astra…it’s a difficult to master skill…Zihark and I learned it from a guy named Stefan back in Tellius…”_

Leah nodded, if his guesses were correct Mia was able to attack as many times as she did in such rapid succession…it was almost like she was doing it all at once.

_“Do you want to learn?”_

Leah opened his mouth to answer as she looked away _“We’ll teach you. Look forward to it.”_

The man couldn’t help but chuckle _“You sure are something.”_

With that the woman brought one of her arms and flexed before turning a corner.

After she left Leah kept moving, stopping outside a certain room. Breathing in he knocked. A few seconds later the door opened, Soren appeared “Leah?”

“I need your help.”

* * *

Outside the pair searched the area behind the building.

“You think he came all this way to open your window to send a message?”

Leah shrugged “I don’t know but I told you my story. That’s how I knew he was sneaking out…it had to be him I sure as hell didn’t open it.”

“Leah…you okay?”

“I’m just worried…”

As Leah kept looking Soren crossed his arms “You could’ve woken up Zihark, you’ve been getting close to him right? Why me? If it comes down to a sword duel I won’t be of any use.”

Leah stopped searching and turned to face Soren “Why did you come along with me?”

“Hm?”

“When I asked if you were all going to Wisin…it was convenient but you just met me, you had no reason to help me with my brother. None at all.”

Soren nodded “You’re right. To be completely honest I only have second hand experience with siblings. From what I’ve seen Ike and Mist love each other…they’re always friendly whereas Rolf and Boyd get into arguments with Oscar breaking them up. That’s normal sibling behavior I assume…so why are you and your brother the way you are?”

Leah shrugged “Is that it? Curiosity?”

“Leah. I have this…desire to just figure anything out. I can’t stop my brain from thinking ahead. It was very useful during war time but in times of peace like at the docks of a foreign nation I just…question everything.”

“I’m afraid we’re a unique case. Most siblings don’t turn on each other like this. Some argue yes…heck even our rulers, Lyger and Yuuten get into scuffles…but they’d never want to take the other’s life. That’s not what siblings do.”

Leah gestured around “Look at me. I’m a coward answering his brother’s second call to battle…what’s wrong with me.”

“He’s your brother.”

“He’s a monster.”

Soren nodded “He’s a monster…who’s your brother.”

Leah shook his head “So why?”

Soren sighed “You know that it isn’t your fault. You know that you didn’t kill the people that he did. You know that. Yet you can’t stop your mind from blaming yourself. What if I had noticed sooner? What if I had stopped him before? What if this is because of something I did? What if I loved my brother more? Would he have turned out like this?”

A tear fell from Leah as he shook his head, choking out “I don’t know…”

“Of course you don’t Leah. It’s impossible to know.”

Leah rubbed his face “My parents…I’ve lied to them all these years…I wanted to believe the brother I grew up with was still in there…somewhere…I’m so fucking stupid, he’s killing people for joy!”

Leah shook his head “What did I do?”

Soren approached the man and put a hand on his shoulder “You did nothing, you have no more control over your brother’s actions than anyone else. Accept this Leah. The only thing that matters from here on out…is what you do.”

Leah’s eyes found Soren as he continued “You decide what you do. There is no right or wrong in this. It’s your choice and you will live with it.”

Nodding Leah wiped his face again “Thank you. Soren.”

The sage nodded, taking a deep breath “I should thank you…I battle with these thoughts constantly…recently I’ve been at war with them.”

“Because of Mia?” Leah whispered.

Soren looked up to him, recalling their first battle with the Order of Rein. He was all set to give Klein the signal when Leah said something similar “How did you…”

Leah scratched the back of his head “I’m sorry I’m definitely intruding on something I shouldn’t be.”

Soren sighed "Considering an earlier chat I'm not surprised I've let more people know. I try to keep it to myself but."

Leah chuckled "You should probably stop staring at her so much."

The sage raised an eyebrow "That's how you knew?"

"Well...a certain letter pointed me in the direction."

At that Soren released a long breath  _"Of course...but how did...am I really this obvious?"_

As the sage shook his head, Leah cleared his throat "I want to help."

The archsage looked back at Leah as he continued "You. Mia. Zihark. You all help me with my problems and ask for nothing in return…I don't think I can give any good advice but I want to help."

Soren let out a sigh "It's alright. You don't have to feel indebted to us and I doubt you could help. It's not about having experience or good advice…a lot of my problems stem from my…past and I've only ever told one person about it."

The sage looked up at the sky “I didn’t think it wise to share it but I did and everything I’ve learned since then has just made it harder to convince myself to let the truth out again. I think somewhere deep down I know none of this matters…but can that be true? Can what I am? Who I am? Where I’m from? Does that all really mean nothing?”

His eyes met Leah’s as the other man sighed “You’re right. It’s hard to…say anything helpful without the full story but…you’ve all been so…accommodating to a coward like me. I’m not worth it but Zihark assures me I am…”

Leah looked up to the moon then back to Soren “I think you are…maybe overcomplicating this a little.”

Soren’s head snapped up “What?”

“I just…if what you all have claimed to do is true…then you are really, really smart. Sometimes the best answer is the simplest…damn that sounds stupid, I’m sorry.”

Soren though back to Mia’s words, practically the same. “No Leah. It’s not stupid. Thank you.”

After a short silence Leah pulled out Cerulean “I’m not going to bed any time soon. Whether or not Nihil was here…doesn’t matter…Soren, would you spar with me? Help me improve?”

Soren pulled out his blade “I’m not very good.”

“Despite my training, neither am I. You have Zihark and Mia in your corner though so…you’re probably still above me.”

The sage shrugged “Anything I can do to help.”

“And Soren.”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for this talk…I definitely needed it.”

“It seems that maybe…I did too…”

Soren brought up his blade and made a small gesture prompting Leah to charge.

* * *

_Centra Stronghold_

“Are you sure?”

Yuuten nodded with a smile “Its fine Miina. I deserve it.”

The King still wore the bruise from Lyger’s fist, refusing Miina’s healing.

“The Mercenaries won’t take you seriously with that blotting your face.”

“There are more important things going on than my face, we’re all aware of this. I’m serious Miina.”

Shrugging she moved to her seat “Alright, alright.”

Lyger entered the room, his eyes landed on Yuuten. The King was pretty sure he hadn’t gotten all his cursing out but decided to just let it stew as he walked over to his seat.

Yuuten knew his brother well, there would be no _“Can we talk now?”_ speech or anything, when Lyger was ready to listen, he’ll know.

The door opened with Wyre leading the group, followed by Ike and his Mercenaries and Klein in the back with his head down.

Wyre marched right up to Yuuten “Did you know that Klein was…is a vampire?”

Yuuten sighed as Lyger stood up “Come again.”

Miina got in front of Lyger “We’re not doing this here, you will not embarrass us in front of the Emissaries.”

“Embarrass us? Yuuten has been lying to us! All of us! Withholding vital information! Working with a murdering, traitorous vampire!”

“And we will hear him out!” Miina yelled back.

The Rook and Queen glared at each other until the woman put her hands on her hips prompting Lyger to sit back down.

“Wyre. Sit.”

The Bishop moved to his seat followed by Miina as Klein came to stand before them.

“Where do I begin…?”

“You can begin now.”

The group turned as Uhnie and Shinon entered, with the latter waving to other Mercenaries “You can thank us for solving your smuggle issue later. Glad you caught the bastard first though.”

Ike raised an eyebrow “What?”

Uhnie gestured to Klein and the other Five Pieces “This is what this is right? We told Lyger that Klein was responsible for the deaths of the Thyremog crew…heard it from Tohgum himself, he’s hiding out in Theem by the way with Zaya and Neteau.”

Ike turned back to Klein “Wait…you were smuggled here from Thyremog?”

“Can everyone just let me talk!? I’ll explain everything!”

Klein breathed in “I want to preface this by saying that after I broke out of the vampire’s control…everything about my past was fuzzy at best. Yuuten can attest to this.”

The King nodded “Remember when I said my source’s mental condition made me doubt his information? This is what I meant. He didn’t even trust his own scattered memories.”

The Knight sighed “But as the days passed and I fought off more vampires visited more places I regained pieces of what happened before. I swear I did not know where the Vampires were based until we arrived in Quadnis. Once there is just kind of…hit me in the face.”

“So you remember everything now?”

Klein looked to Ike and shook his head “No. But I have enough to give you all the clearest possible picture. I don’t know where I started but I did come here, to Centra from Thyremog with three other men. We were on a critical mission attaining blood samples of the most twisted warriors we could find. One of my comrades took some of Barbyos’ blood with us when we boarded the ship and left.”

“Who are the others?” Lyger demanded.

“I have no names and not enough description to be useful. I know that’s not what you want to hear but as I said, I lost a lot. Anyway, when we arrived in Hitenticul we began our mission. We split into pairs and began searching. I can’t remember who brought it up but eventually we determined that we had to kill the crew that brought us here as a precaution. So we did…my partner was attacked by the Order during one of our…assassinations. He called for me so I left a body in a home.”

“Gahnzo. Did you remember that when we found him?” Soren asked.

The Knight nodded slowly “I joined him and we fended off the vampires. We decided whoever led those…things could be useful to our cause so we hunted them down, eventually tracking them to Quadnis.”

“Which is how you knew the hideout was there.” Wyre stated.

Klein nodded and continued “There were a lot of them, this time though the commanders attacked us as well, we killed the ones operating as Heart, Spade, Diamond and Club but Jack and Joker were much tougher…Futarr and Kanahana. Eventually we met Ace, their leader Ulyus Rein and…I’m sure he beat us…he had to have for me to have become a vampire but I can’t remember how it happened. After that….I can barely remember anything I did as a member of the Order for the two month I served.”

“You think that cleanses your crimes?” Lyger asked, trying to keep his voice even.

Klein shook his head “Of course not…my partner got ahold of himself somehow and then he tried to get me back…when I came to…there…there was…”

Klein closed his eyes “There was a boy. In front of me. No older than five…his stomach was torn open and his blood and entrails were all over my body.”

The Knight refused to open his eyes, he didn’t want to see the reactions on anyone’s faces. The silence was enough to make him sick all over again “I demanded to know what happened…my partner said we were being used…we both saw the irony in that and determined there was nothing to benefit us here. So we escaped, killed the vampires that came after us and hid. We argued about what to do next…neither not sure. We didn’t even know if the other two had left but we didn’t care…waking up with a dead child that you ripped open…a child you murdered puts everything into perspective. I realized whatever it was we were doing would end with millions upon millions of children in the same state…I wanted no part in it…my partner felt the same but…then what were we to do? Next thing I knew he assaulted someone, killed them, took their blood.”

* * *

_“What the fuck are you doing?”_

_“I…I don’t know…I just…I needed it…”_

_“We’re not doing this anymore! We’re not! Do you hear me!?”_

_“Kruse, I need this! I need it! I don’t want it but I need it!”_

* * *

“I felt the same way…vampires can’t live without constantly drinking blood. I hated what the Order did to us so I decided to go to war with them. My partner wanted no part in it, he wanted to be as far from here as possible so I put him on a ship and off he went. I started killing vampires and eventually Yuuten found me. He saw what I was and attacked me, almost killed me, I swore to him all I wanted was to kill the Order. Prevent them from doing what they did to me to anyone else. I told him all I could remember, everything was far fuzzier at the time. As I said before the location of their base didn’t come to me until we were in Quadnis.”

Yuuten spoke up “I didn’t want to trust him because he was a vampire so I watched him, he found and killed multiple vampires all on his own and resisted every urge to drink blood. We needed him and Wyton had retired so I told him to become Hitenticul’s Knight and help us stamp out this threat. Despite his broken memory he was a great boon to hunting down vampires.”

Klein finally opened his eyes and looked at Lyger, Yuuten, Wyre and Miina before turning to the Mercenaries “I know I was a monster before I was a vampire and acted with the Order…but all that I’ve done, fighting and bleeding next to all of you is genuine. Waking up was the greatest horror but it put life and existence in perspective…I fully intend to be held accountable for everything that I’ve done…I just want to stop the Order now, after that. Execution. Life imprisonment. I don’t care, I’ll take it…I swear.”

Ike nodded “Of that, we have no doubt.”

“So this whole time…you’ve been slowly remembering these events?”

Klein looked at Miina “Yes. After I awoke with my partner a lot was lost. I knew I came from somewhere else and was captured by someone…but most details were lost. As I fought the vampires and worked with Yuuten they came back and I filled him in on what I remembered in my reports.”

“I wanted to wait till he could remember everything specifically because I knew Lyger would fly off the handle or everyone would doubt his current actions.” Yuuten said “Was it the right thing to do? That doesn’t matter because it was a decision I made.”

Yuuten looked to Lyger who released a heavy breath “So can you help us now? Can you help us find the Order?”

Klein shrugged “Maybe…there was one other thing…the Order is striving to create something called Ultimatum for various purposes. For such a thing they have another spot…a lab of sorts where they conduct experiments with the people they take. I just can’t remember where it was.”

“Ultimatum. They think I can help them create that? I’ve never even heard of it.”

Klein turned to Soren, he started to say something but shook his head before going with “Believe me when I say I have no idea why they are so focused on you…”

While a few Mercenaries nodded, Soren could tell that Klein was lying to him. Lying for him.

Miina crossed her arms “Your partner. Where did he go?”

Klein shook his head “I’m not sure. I put him on a ship in Quadnis…this was about…three months ago…and as we all know we started trading with other lands a month before that so…”

Yuuten sighed “If we knew which pier we could pinpoint where he went but last I checked, you couldn’t remember that.”

Klein nodded “Still can’t. As for the other two…I guess they left without us…something tells me it wasn’t that simple but I just…can’t remember.”

“There is something about all this that bugs me.”

Klein looked over to Ike “You are a vampire. Why don’t you look like one?”

The Knight pulled off one of his gloves, holding his clawed hand out as well as the grey skin around it “I have various blotches like this all over my body. When Yuuten found me I was completely grey just like the other vampires. I don’t know how we are changed but…I didn’t grow wings…I did have sharp fangs in the back of my mouth but I…tore those out…”

As the chamber fell silent Miina clapped her hands “Thank you for telling us everything Klein.”

He nodded “If I remember anything else I swear to tell you all.”

Miina smiled before looking to the Mercenaries “Alright. You must all be exhausted after everything in Quadnis but there is something that Lyger, Yuuten and I dealt with while you were all out.”

Yuuten gestured to Leah “Your brother.”

“Nihil?”

“We were told a few giant bats were spotted heading for Groopin we headed down there and found the Order and two of their commanders fighting with the Sharks, including Nihil.” Yuuten answered.

Leah took a step forward “What happened? Where is he?”

Lyger shook his head “No idea. The Sharks attacked us despite the fact we were only interested in the Vampires so we wound up fighting off both of them. As we killed the last one we heard a bloodcurdling screech, louder than anything. A bunch of the Sharks’ corpses sprouted wings and flew away.”

“And Nihil?”

Miina sighed “We…didn’t exactly search the battlefield after that happened. He may be with the Order or dead in a ditch…sorry.”

Leah fell silent as Lyger looked to Klein “Anything to say about this?”

The man nodded “It looks like the Order was set on converting the Sharks into Vampires, so they did, no doubt they were impressed or at least interested with the Sharks’ bloodlust.”

Yuuten gestured to Klein “He still has the enhanced strength of a vampire as well as the ability to fly and as anyone who has fought him can attest, he hits as hard if not harder than Lyger here. Now the Order has in essence over a dozen Kleins on their side with raging bloodlust. Not good.”

Ike stepped forward “So is there truly nothing we can do? We have to wait for the Order to start making moves again? Come after Soren again?”

The Knight looked down “It looks that way…I don’t know where there lab is…the only things we can do is prepare for an attack or go out searching again, though if we split up we know exactly what they’ll do.”

“We’ll have to worry about all this later.” Soren stated “We all still need rest, its safest here in Unitt. Take some time, maybe I can come up with something.”

The Pieces nodded with Yuuten speaking “Very well. I’ll take you all to a place where you can rest…thank you all for what you’ve done so far for Hitenticul.”

As everyone left Wyre walked over to Klein “I’m sorry Wyre. I truly did think of you as a friend and comrade…I knew that if you knew-“

“It doesn’t matter. Help us stop the Order. That’s all there is.” The Bishop walked off as Klein looked to the other Pieces. He no longer felt worthy of sitting in the Knight’s seat. Instead he left the chamber as well.

* * *

Outside, Leah sat on a bench letting out a heavy breath as Soren, Mia and Zihark joined him.

“So what was that last night…was that just all my imagination?”

“What was?” Mia asked.

Soren filled them in on what he and Leah went out for, leaving out their heart to heart.

“Maybe you did open it…just out of…familiarity.”

Leah looked to Zihark and nodded “Maybe…can he really be…dead?”

“Would you be upset if he was?” Zihark asked, sitting next to him.

“I’d be lying if I didn’t feel a little relief…and I’m shocked that I feel such…disappointment. I know that there is no way I could beat him in a fair fight but…I still wanted to try.”

Leah looked to Mia “Isn’t that ridiculous?”

“No, I don’t think so…but if it is still bugging you, our offer to train you is still open and I vaguely recall promising to teach you Astra.”

He looked away “What good would it do me?

Mia grabbed Leah’s arm and lifted him “Plenty. Trust me…you can fight with your thoughts on your own or you can spar to the point of exhaustion and think about it again. Everything will become much clearer. Maybe you’ll find the answer that you want…and if you can’t, you’ll at least find a way to live.”

Leah looked at Mia, then Soren, then Zihark. Taking a deep breath he nodded and smiled to Mia “I suppose I can try.”

Mia returned the smile before looking to Zihark “Looks like we have two students now Z.”

Zihark smirked “Let’s whip em into shape.”

As they walked together, Soren noted there was still doubt in Leah’s eyes, he put a hand on the man’s shoulder. Once their eyes met he spoke “Don’t worry about it all now…the solution will come.”

Leah let out a low “Thank you.” As the four took up positions.


	27. Trump

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Mercenaries regroup and relax in the Centra Stronghold...all seems well...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love the primarily character talking chapters mainly because they got to not be in peril. For the most part.

**Chapter 26 - Trump**

_Order of Rein Laboratory_

“Anything?”

Ulyus shook his head “No. Though a few yielded variable results…I think we can use these for the other project…”

The vampire nodded, taking the reports from Ulyus who crossed his arms.

Turning he noted Kanahana “You’re late.”

The Joker gestured to his missing arm “I wonder why...spare me.”

Ulyus shook his head before asking “Where is Futarr?”

“Hm…he didn’t come back with me so what do you think happened?”

 “I severed the link with you two after I told Futarr to get you out of there, I didn’t see and I’m asking you a question. Where is he?”

Kanahana shrugged before speaking “They weren’t just going to let us get away. They chased us, I barely made it out, Futarr did not.”

Ulyus kept his eyes on Kanahana. The other vampire did not so much as look away. Looking back to his work he sighed “Well we need a new Jack then. I already had Nekyu and Tukero head down into the cavern to find a new Heart and Diamond, they’ll be up soon…I trust you can find one that responded as Futarr did?”

Kanahana rolled his eyes “Of course, I’m not a moron.”

Ulyus grasped several forms and handed them to Kanahana “Then do it.”

“Can you at least do something about this?” The vampire gestured to his stump to which Ulyus rolled his eyes “When I have the time.”

As the Ace walked away to check on something else, Kanahana walked down the hall. He found it laughable how their Headquarters was a cave, fitting for the monstrous bats they’ve become but the Laboratory that Ulyus had constructed using countless lessers was so…human.

Exiting the main lab area he tried to rip the papers apart but remembered he only had one arm. Cursing he tore into them with his teeth.

* * *

_Capital of Unitt_

Waking to a new day, the Mercenaries took the time to eat heartily before falling into their usual mannerisms of training together or chatting.

Soren sat outside in the grass alone, eyes closed. He thought of the enemies left, their mysterious goal. His blood was of the most unique kind in Tellius but could it truly be what the Order needs? Did they ever encounter a Branded before? Are the odds just so against him? Was this even a riddle he should be attempting to figure out?

“Soren, I can feel the steam radiating from you.”

He looked back to Mia and instantly, everything became calm “Thank you.”

“Huh? For what?”

“For being here.”

She blushed “I don’t completely get it but…you’re welcome and anytime.”

She moved over and sat down next to him “Leah and Zihark are sparring again. He’s getting better, faster…maybe a little more confident. I actually think he is looking forward to learning Astra.”

“Good to hear…he and I exchanged quite a few words….as did Zihark. Maybe we’re clearing up his confusion. Maybe he’ll find his answer.”

Mia smiled “I hope so.”

Soren sighed before glancing from the corner of his eye to see Mia looking down, making circles in the grass. He thought again about the story she told him of her past. He felt misplaced guilt. He thought about his talk with Stefan and Micaiah. Was love a good idea? The other two Branded clearly had differing opinions on the matter.

_“Why would I ever…fall for…”_

He thought back to all the times they interacted. Seeing Mia’s countless smiles over the years and her reassurances. She had the strength to smile and live after what happened in her youth, after what happened to her family. Eventually she made friends and was able to regain her true smile and finally move on…and she shared her strength with him.

She finally looked over to him, usually he would look away but he didn’t. Blushing she turned away “Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Just thinking…”

“You’re always thinking.”

“Yes but I was thinking about you.”

Mia looked back at him “Why?”

Soren sighed “Because…all these years you just…you’ve been here. Next to me. When I didn’t trust you, when I didn’t particularly like you or care for your company. You never…left. You never stopped trying. Eventually the time I spent with you was less trying and more…freeing. Calming. I loved being near you.”

Mia knew she must be as red as humanly possible as she barely let out “Where is this coming from Soren?”

He shook his head as he looked away “I don’t know…I just…felt like saying it. Sorry if I’m freaking you out.”

“You could never freak me out. I’m just glad you’re being so open.”

Soren stood “Well. What about a quick spar?”

Mia stood up as well “You sure?”

“I’ve got to be ready. We don’t know when the vampires will attack again but we know they want me so let’s make them getting me more of a pain in the ass for them.”

Mia nodded “Alright then.”

The pair picked up a few trainers and began, Mia let Soren take the lead, blocking all his blows effortlessly. She noted how well thought out his attacks were. _“He could actually, really learn how to do this.”_

“Morning you two.”

As they continued Mia barely noted Wyre “Hello, Bishop.” As she bounced Soren’s blade away the sage nodded to him and moved back in.

“You slept in. Missed breakfast.”

Wyre looked back at the building before facing the two Mercenaries again “Should I be angry at Klein?”

As the trainers met and broke away again Soren spoke, all while trying to get closer to Mia “I don’t know, should you?”

“He’s been lying…about everything.”

As Mia moved aside, Soren’s trainer hitting the dirt she noted Wyre “Should he have just come out and said ‘by the way I’m a vampire?’ You probably would have attacked him. He could say that he wants to stop the Order a hundred different ways but he elected to show you he was serious through his actions. Not his words.”

Hopping aside, Mia started evaded Soren’s slashes again as Wyre crossed his arms.

The sage called out “We knew. Mia and I. But we also knew there was a reason he wanted us to keep it to ourselves. So we did. I’d say I’m sorry but I’m not…it wasn’t our secret to share.”

“That’s honorable.” Wyre whispered as Mia struck Soren a few times, the sage’s face showing evident pain. Her hand flew to her mouth “Oh! Oh no! I’m so sorry! Are you okay!?”

Soren stood back at, rubbing one of his most likely forming bruises as she neared him “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Smacking her forehead she sighed “That’s how hard I strike Ike at times…I’m so sorry, I forgot.”

Soren waved it off but felt a pinching pain.

Wyre walked over and pulled out a staff, Mia moved aside as he held it to the sage’s side. “She broke a few of your ribs Soren. The correct answer is not ‘I’m fine.”

Soren chuckled “Indeed it isn’t.”

The Bishop looked to Soren’s trainer then to Mia “I’d say this isn’t safe but I take it this isn’t your first spar.”

Mia laughed nervously “Actually…”

“It is.” Soren deadpanned as Wyre shook his head “Ah…Mia do you truly believe he can master the blade? I must admit a mage of his caliber learning swordplay sounds like quite the asset.”

Mia nodded “I know he can. I believe in him.”

Wyre smiled as Soren spun his trainer “I’m still not sure you can grasp magic.” Soren couldn’t help but smile as Mia rolled her eyes “Come on. Believe in me a little teach.”

Soren chuckled before moving towards her again.

Mia called out “Wyre! Klein is your friend right? Nothing changes between the two of you just because you learned his secret.”

Wyre nodded slowly as Soren added “We all fear losing the respect and friendship of other for our truths but sometimes the connections we form with others trump the very truths that we fear.”

Wyre crossed his arms again as Soren took another blow, Mia apologizing again.

“You two…you’re perfect together.”

As Soren swung at Mia again the woman called out “What was that? Didn’t quite catch it.”

Wyre shook his head “Nothing at all. Thank you. Both of you.”

As he began to leave he heard Soren grunt again followed by another apology. Turning around again he approached the sage “Actually, I should stick around. Make sure Soren holds together.”

Mia laughed “Thank you Wyre.”

He smiled at her as Soren rolled his eyes and muttered a low “Thank you.”

* * *

_Order of Rein Laboratory - Underground_

Nekyu emerged from a chamber with a new Diamond “We’re a team now. As much as I don’t want to be.”

“Neither do I.” The Diamond spat.

Nekyu shrugged, stretching her wings, now repaired “Well, get used to it. Tukero!”

The man appeared with the new Club behind him “What is it Nekyu?”

She shook her head “Just wanted to make sure you weren’t lazing about.”

As the four began heading back up, Tukero looked to Nekyu “So what is Ulyus planning? Kanahana’s assaults got us nothing. The information made Ulyus happy but what about the blood? That is why we’re doing this right?”

Nekyu shrugged “Who knows. Though do you really doubt Ulyus? Everything has worked out well so far.”

Before Tukero could respond the group came to a halt, hearing a loud groan. The Heart shivered “That thing…it worries me.”

“It shouldn’t. Grow a pair, Tukero.”

Nekyu snapped her fingers, a group of black clad lessers with blades approached her “Are the new subjects here?”

The one in the lead nodded, Nekyu smiled “Very good. I’m going to check in with Ulyus once more just to make sure he is set on his end. Where is Kanahana?”

The Vampire Sharks all shook their heads causing her to sigh “Fine. You all, try to find him. Tukero take the new guys outside and go on a run.”

Tukero nodded and walked off with Diamond and Club.

* * *

_Order of Rein Laboratory – Main Office_

Ulyus sat in his office gazing over the latest results as Nekyu entered “We’ve got a new load in.”

“Thank you.”

“Anything good?”

Ulyus groaned, crunching the papers in his fists “No…nothing at all…it’s all the fucking same!”

Nekyu held her hands out “We just replaced that desk. Don’t destroy it.”

Growling, Ulyus turned away, looking out his window to the main hall where the Vampire Sharks were currently searching for Kanahana.

“Sir. Are you sure this will take us to what you want? What we want?”

Ulyus closed his eyes “Maybe. There is only one way to know for certain.”

Standing the Ace stretched his wings “I would like to borrow some of your Sharks.”

“Sure…what for?”

Ulyus turned to face her “It’s time for me to take matters into my own hands.”

* * *

_Capital of Unitt_

“Okay! Okay! I give!”

Laughing Zihark helped Leah up “You did very well.”

“I’ll say.”

The pair nodded to Klein Kruse as he approached “You definitely seem to be coming into your own. Though some of it may be the quality of your teachers.”

Zihark pushed Leah lightly, the other man stumbled a few feet. The Daein now faced in the direction of Soren and Mia, seeing them sparring as well as Wyre standing by.

Smirking Zihark spoke “You definitely pulled the golden straw Leah. I’m pretty sure there are no better blade masters out there than Mia.”

Leah stood next to him and looked in the same direction “You’re pretty good yourself.”

“Yeah but she still kicks my ass to Tellius and back.”

Zihark turned to face Klein “And we’re totally cool with you Klein. Vampire or smuggled criminal, you’ve been helping us. You were key in keeping us alive during that mess in the Fish House. Thank you.”

“Really? I didn’t quite get that feeling back in Quadnis.”

Zihark chuckled “I’m sure they just felt the need to be the bad guys. A man’s true character shows when he is under pressure. Ike and Titania were probably just seeing if they could push you enough to break your façade.”

Klein crossed his arms as Zihark continued “Since all you did was reassure them that you are not of the Order…I’m pretty sure we’re all cool with you now.”

The Knight looked to Leah who nodded “I am…I’ve seen what you’ve done. How you fight. You really want us to beat these things.”

“Indeed I do…you are all very good people and I’m glad to have met you.”

Zihark gestured over “You gonna go talk to your buddy Wyre?”

“Do you think he’ll let me?”

Leah cut in “You two may have only served together for a few months but your joint expeditions have always been the most successful. The man capable of dueling the creatures and the mage able to ground them. You two bonded over the protection of all of Centra…I don’t think that can be broken.”

“Even though I lied?”

Zihark shrugged “So he didn’t know who you were. What he did see was a valiant Knight, fighting to protect people from monsters.”

Zihark started walking with Leah close behind “C’mon. Let’s go talk to your buddy.”

Klein looked back at the castle then at the retreating Zihark and Leah. Nodding to himself he followed them.

* * *

_Centra Stronghold_

“Really?”

Lyger nodded to Titania, the two of them and Ike sitting at a table “Whenever you all decide to move out, we’ll all be with you. I’m sick of letting those vampires feed off my home. Yuuten, Miina and I will be on the front lines. We’re killing all these bitches.”

Ike looked over to Castle leaning against a wall “Honestly, can’t wait to see you wielding that.”

“Oh he’s a terror.”

The group acknowledged Miina as she joined them, sitting on Lyger’s right. Yuuten following close behind, sitting on his brother’s other side.

“But also a blatant loudmouth.”

Lyger rolled his eyes “I’m still not talking with you bro.”

Yuuten smiled “Oh yes you are. Trust me bro, I know when you’re good.”

Lyger rolled his eyes as Titania chuckled “You two are perfect siblings, just like Ike and Mist.”

Ike nodded before leaning towards Titania “Though I’m not sure which of them would be the small girl.”

Titania and Miina laughed as Lyger and Yuuten rolled their eyes.

The Queen sighed before gesturing to Ike “So…Ike, how were you able to leave Tellius on your own?”

“What?”

“Well…was there a woman? Women? Did you just leave them to pine for you forever?”

Titania chuckled as Ike shrugged “I don’t think so…there was a merchant I knew named Aimee who was borderline obsessed with me but I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

Miina nodded as Yuuten spoke “That’s it?”

Titania answered for him with a smile “That’s it. This man does not have a romantic bone in his body.”

Ike turned to his deputy “What? How could you possibly know that?”

“I’ve been there everytime you met a new woman that was joining our cause. The ones that flirted with you left you red faced or blabbering or it just flew over your head.”

“That’s not true.”

“Oh really? You couldn’t even tell your own sister Mist and one of your best friends, were falling in love. Right in front of you.”

Ike chuckled nervously as the Pieces erupted into laughter “Titania. Ease up on me.”

She winked “I’m sorry but you know very well that I can’t do that.”

Sighing Ike nodded “Far too well.”

Tilting her head the Queen asked “What of the two of you?”

Ike looked at her “What?”

She pointed between them again, Ike raised an eyebrow “Us? What about us?”

The Queen couldn’t help but laugh again as Titania cleared her throat “N-no…no. There is…no.”

Miina covered her mouth as Yuuten glanced over “Y’know Titania, I could have sworn your skin just turned into the same shade as your hair for a second there.”

Ike raised an eyebrow “What’s going on?”

“Nothing!” Titania yelled.

Holding his sides, Lyger practically fell off his seat. Deciding he wasn’t going to get an answer, Ike sat back, enjoying the sight. Titania and Miina chatting, Yuuten putting in a comment and Lyger trying to control himself.

Moments like these is what he wanted everyone to have. It’s why he fought so hard for Tellius and why he finds himself fighting against other threats whenever he can. Everyone deserves _this_.

* * *

_Capital of Unitt_

“Klein.”

“Wyre.”

The pair stood across from each other, chuckling at their united statements. Klein gestured for Wyre to continue.

“I understand why you did what you did and…I do have to thank you. Without your strength at our side we may not have been as successful at stopping the Order as we have been. Thank you for protecting the people.”

Klein took a deep breath as Wyre bowed. “I don’t deserve thanks. I may not remember my life before but I know I wasn’t a good person. That said these people, the people of Hitenticul don’t deserve this happening to them. As long as we can work together…we can stop them.”

Klein bowed this time before moving forward and extending a hand. Wyre took it and embraced the other man.

As they split apart, they looked over to Mia, Soren, Zihark and Leah, all smiling.

“Klein. Can I ask one thing?”

The Knight chuckled “You want to duel?”

Mia started to say something, before stopping. “That sounds like a great idea! But…what I wanted to say was...were you actually flying when Soren and I fought you?”

“Hm? Oh! Yes…sort of…I can float, basically. It’s actually more useful on the ground.”

Soren nodded “I thought I saw something odd when you were dashing around trying to get us.”

Klein crossed his arms “I’m honestly not sure what was so different about me that I didn’t get wings…granted their absence made blending in easier but I wish I could rmember how I was changed and what my partner’s name was for that matter.”

Wyre sighed “So you all fought when you first met?”

Soren nodded “Klein mistook as for enemies and he wouldn’t tell us who he was. Blew his cover when he started floating.”

Wyre elbowed Klein “Smooth. Though honestly that sounds like a fight I would’ve loved to see.”

Mia put an arm around Soren and flexed her other “We totally won.”

Klein chuckled “I recall it ended when Soren was healing you…no one really won.”

Soren thought back “I seem to remember my arms around your neck and Mia’s blade at your chest.”

Waving it off the Knight shook his head “That didn’t count.”

Mia released Soren and spun her trainer “Then let’s go now! See what’s up!”

Wyre noted the sun “It is nearly time for lunch, we should go in. You can have your duel with Mia afterwards.”

Klein nodded before bowing to Mia “I’ll make sure not to take you lightly.”

Mia smiled “Alright! Can’t wait!”

As they started walking, Leah moved next to Mia “Hey Leah…what’s up?”

Leah slowed his steps, she fell into rhythym with him, the others getting farther ahead.

“Leah?”

Sighing he scratched the back of his head “I’ve been…well…Soren and Zihark have been helping me with…things.”

“I’ve been training you too.”

“I know but not that…other…things.”

Mia crossed her arms “Your brother?”

He nodded “I just…how did you know that you wanted to become the kind of person you are? How did you know that you wanted to be like how you are? A fighter. A survivor.”

Mia smiled “I was inspired by a woman named Rey and my parents always believed I could achieve anything. With their blessings I practiced and created my own style. Everyone I knew, even the neighbor boys who thought it was a joke were impressed with my skills.”

“And you just decided to get better?”

Mia nodded “Yeah…I had things…important things…people ripped away from me when I was younger. I became stronger to prevent that from ever happening again. I would always strive to better myself so that I would never become a victim again.”

As Leah looked away she threw an arm around him “Leah. You don’t need an in depth reason for living your life this way. You live your life for you. You pick up the sword for you.”

He shook his head “I picked up the sword because my brother forced my hand…I learned it because I felt I had to…”

“Yeah but you never ever had to swing it in battle.”

Leah faced her as she continued “There was no one forcing you to step on a battlefield and use your weapon to kill. When we first fought the vampires you jumped to Klein’s aid, not because you were forced to but because you decided that you had to. The same for when we fought them in their own home base. You aided Zihark and all of us because _you wanted to_. That’s what you have to remember. No one can ever force you to do anything.”

Leah thought back, his brother tried to kill him, tried to force Leah to fight him and he didn’t. He didn’t want to.

“If I face Nihil again. Can I actually…fight him? Would I be able to convince myself fighting him is the right thing to do?”

Mia looked up “I wish I had a sibling…maybe it could help me understand all this. Leah, when you face your brother you have to let yourself think. When you two fight…why are you fighting him? To protect innocents he takes and turns into Sharks? For your parents? For yourself? Why would _you_ want to fight Nihil?”

Leah closed his eyes as she spoke up “Don’t answer it now. Just think on it. When you see him next…maybe you’ll have an answer.”

Leah opened his eyes and smiled “Thank you Mia. You, Soren, Zihark…you really believe that I can…figure this all out even when I’m convinced that I can’t.”

Mia stopped walking “That’s because it’s only you. There is no one that can figure this out but you. We’ll all give you advice. We’ll all train you. We’ll all support you. But ultimately the call is yours to make, I’m sure we all just hope that we can make the decision easier. Above all else you are a good man Leah and good men struggle to make decisions because they know that the consequences are very real. We’ll take some weight off your shoulders so you don’t get crushed before the decision even comes.”

Leah bowed “Thank you. Truly.”

Mia laughed, gripping Leah’s shoulder and standing him up “Don’t mention it. After we eat, you better be out here training again.”

Leah smiled “Of course.”

“And buck up! No more doom and gloom!”

Leah laughed “I’ll try my best.”

“That’s all I ask.”

* * *

_Centra Stronghold_

As the Mercenaries ate their lunch in relative peace. Shinon sat playing with his food. Uhnie joined him with a smile “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t like waiting around knowing what’s out there and no one here seems concerned…”

Uhnie shook her head “You are the one who tells me that these people. The Greil Mercenaries know exactly what to worry about. Shorty said he’d come up with a plan so let him worry about that.”

Gatrie sat down next to Shinon “Hey man! What’s up? Uhnie.”

She nodded to him “Gatrie. It’s been a while.”

“What have you two been doing since we got here? Aside from fighting to land sharks and all that.”

Shinon mumbled something as Uhnie spoke up “He helped me hunt down a target.”

Gatrie raised an eyebrow “A…target? When was this?”

“Not too long after we landed.”

Gatrie chuckled “Someone already asked for you to take someone out? Geez.”

Uhnie shook her head “No. This target was assigned to me a long time ago. Imagine my surprise when I spotted the guy walking about.”

Gatrie tilted his head “What?”

Shinon put an arm around Gatrie “Uhnie is allied with Volke in this crazy black war that no one knows is being fought.”

Gatrie’s eyes widened as Shinon continued “These dudes all use codenames, the one we took down was Ion Jack.”

“I made Shinon conceal himself though, they can’t know who he is.”

Gatrie leaned back “Wow…do you have a codename?”

Shinon smirked “Deadeye.”

The Marshall then looked at Uhnie “And yours was?”

“Mistress of Fire. Shinon was handy though I’m sure he was impressed with Ion Jack’s speed.”

Shinon nodded “I was. He dodged quite a few arrows I’m sure I had him on but in the end…”

Shinon feigned a cutting motion across his neck. Gatrie sighed “You always have all the fun Shinon.”

Uhnie leaned in “Maybe you can join us next time. You’ll need a codename.”

Before Gatrie could come up with one Shinon cut in “Skirt Chaser.”

* * *

_Capital of Unitt_

Soren sat down on the grass again watching Klein and Mia’s weapons collide while Zihark and Leah dueled on the side.

Wyre joined him “Here you are Soren.”

The sage took some of the books from the Bishop “These are the basics of Tome construction?”

Wyre nodded “What do you want to make?”

Shaking his head Soren spoke “Not for me.”

As Wyre tilted his head Titania joined them, sitting next to Soren “Hey, how have you been?”

He looked to see the woman’s concern “Fine.”

“Really? I know you said you’d come up with a plan but we have no way of preparing anything. No knowledge. No nothing.”

Soren nodded “I know.” He tried to look away but Titania put a hand on his shoulder. His eyes found her again.

“Soren. We’re all in this together. Don’t feel that you have to do everything. We’ll all figure it out eventually. We know what’s at risk. We know they want you. We won’t let them have you.”

Soren smiled “Thank you. Titania.”

She smiled back “Don’t mention it Soren.” Standing she called out “Klein!”

Looking away he took a strike to the head. Turning to Mia she started apologizing profusely.

“Your friend over here told me you ogled me in combat.”

Klein shook his head “I did not! Wyre!”

The Bishop shrugged as Titania approached while pulling out a training weapon “Let’s go.”

Mia moved away “Oh! This will be awesome!”

Before Klein could say anything more Titania charged and forced him on the defensive. As Soren observed he couldn’t help but admire how skilled Titania was. She was Deputy Commander for a reason and in battle that very reason was clear as day.

Klein leapt back as Titania struck his weapon, the man spun around to try and get her but she leapt and over his strike and landed a blow on his chest. As he took a few steps back he smirked before moving back in.

As Mia watched in awe, a man approached her from behind and swung his axe. Spinning about she stopped it.

“Hey there missy.”

She smirked “Lyger Heitnaro.”

Breaking away she spun her blade as he smiled “ _I_ heard that you wanted to test me.”

“Most definitely!”

His axe came down but she was out of the way in a flash, striking Lyger in the side briefly before he swung about, the range was hard to judge as Lyger moved as if he was wielding a stick.

Taking a blow she fell a few steps back. “What do you think?”

“I think this is gonna be fun!”

Soren couldn’t help but chuckle watching all the sparring matches as Wyre sighed “They’re all like this it seems.”

Ike, Miina and Yuuten joined them shortly after. Yuuten whistling as Klein and Lyger were pushed back at the same time by their opponents. “I think the next Rook and Knight should be female.”

Miina laughed “Oh I would love that!”

Ike sat down next to Soren “Not sparring?”

“Mia and I already had a go, she broke a few of my ribs.”

“Ouch. She did the same to me.”

Soren nodded “She didn’t mean to but she gets into it and forgets I’m not exactly built like you are.”

“Don’t let that get you down. For a mage you take far more punishment than you should.”

Sitting there, Soren took a deep breath. He felt calm, he watched his allies enjoy themselves. Listened to the words from Wyre, Miina, Yuuten and Ike. He felt so…normal.

As he smiled, Miina kneeled down “Oh! Creating your own Tome? Best of luck, I could never quite get the hang of it.”

Soren faced her “What happened?”

“My tome exploded into flames, blackened the whole royal chamber. Yuuten and Lyger tried to get me to clean it up. Me! An old woman, how dare they.”

Yuuten laughed “She caused it but of course it came down to Lyger and I. She never fixes any damage she causes.”

Miina rolled her eyes “You act as if me breaking walls, chairs and tables is an every day thing.”

Soren chuckled “You Five. As people and as a system. You work perfectly.”

Yuuten smirked “Really? How are things in Tellius?”

Soren sighed “Kings and Queens are tied by blood in Crimea, Daein and Begnion. Granted the current Daein Queen is of a new bloodline…the Laguz on the other hand choose leaders based on strength in battle and strength of character.”

Wyre looked up at the sky “Sounds effective.”

“Believe me, I think their method is the superior one.” Ike stated “Though Elincia, Micaiah and Sanaki are brilliant leaders on their own…of course the nations weren’t always like that.”

“All women?”

Ike thought for a second “Yeah. They are.”

Yuuten couldn’t help but laugh “You know. Maybe the next King should be a woman.” As a few people chuckled Yuuten looked over to Klein as he was pushed back a few more feet. Yelling something before charging and returning the favor to Titania.

Miina sighed “I felt bad at how everyone was so…angry at Klein. He’s a good man.”

Yuuten nodded slowly “I trusted him because I believed in him.”

Ike looked in the direction of Klein “He seems like a good man but I have to admit I felt a little doubt. The greatest betrayal I ever faced was to a holy man.”

“Really? Sounds like a story I’d like to hear.” Yuuten commented.

Miina tapped her chin “Our predecessors put a lot on us when we first took their places. Wynto especially…he had the utmost faith in Klein after meeting with him and talking with him only once. He was beyond satisfied with the man who would become the new Knight.”

“What of Tallnit?” Soren asked “From what Wyre told us you all haven’t seen him in years.”

Yuuten looked over at Wyre “They asked…and I saw no reason to deny them the history lesson.”

The King and Queen sat down behind Ike, Soren and Wyre with Yuuten taking a deep breath.

“He told us that his side research that he started about six years ago was consuming his attention. He couldn’t serve as an efficient Bishop if his mind wasn’t on Hitenticul. He stayed with us for three more years but became very scarce, eventually he apologized and announced a formal retirement. He wanted us to find a replacement who was wise but more devoted to the country. He felt he failed his position, we assured him none of us were angry with him. Wynto even offered him a home here in Unitt near the Library and Center of Knowledge. He said he was considering dropping his research and traversing the Islands to regain his sense of pride in his home.”

Ike crossed his arms “He didn’t take his assumed failures well.”

Miina sighed “After that we just lost contact. We assume he’s still out there traversing the lands. Maybe he learned something? We hope one day he returns. He was a good friend and a great Bishop.”

Wyre gestured to himself “Early in my tenure I sometimes felt incompetent in the light of his scientific discoveries but Yuuten, Lyger, Miina and Wynto assured me I had other strengths and I knew them well.”

“Only Bishop for a year but you seem to be doing well.” Soren commented.

Yuuten smacked Wyre in the back “Indeed he is.”

The group looked out to the field. Zihark, Leah, Klein and Titania were approaching, all sufficiently worn out. They sat down in front of Soren, Ike and Wyre with Zihark stating “This guy…keeps getting better.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” Leah commented.

“Definitely, we did go longer to make up for Mia not sparring with him.”

Leah laughed nervously “I’d rather not get tossed aside repeatedly. I don’t think I’ve landed a solid blow on her yet.”

Titania nodded to Ike before gesturing to the field “Not going to spar?”

“Mia seems very occupied. Don’t want to cut in.”

The Deputy smirked “Then let’s have a round. You and I.”

Ike stood “You sure? Klein didn’t wear you out?”

“I always have the time and strength for you.” She shouldered her weapon and winked “Come on.”

Ike stood and followed her Miina whistled, Soren casting her a glance “You’re like an older Uhnie.”

The Queen laughed as Ike took up position across from Titania. Soren’s eyes fell on Mia and Lyger who were now just laughing rather loudly with each other.

The bigger man held a fist out which Mia bumped with her own. The pair then turned to the group and approached. Soren asking as soon as she was close enough “You alright?”

“Very! That was great! Thanks Lyger!”

“Don’t mention it.”

“She almost worked you over.” Yuuten commented, Lyger brushed it off.

“It wasn’t that close! Mia! I can easily imagine you a renowed teacher in the future bringing pupils to you from all across the world!”

Mia laughed “Thank you Lyger.”

The Rook released a heavy sigh “That Ike. Where did he find all of you?”

Zihark smirked “It wasn’t just us or our drive, things in Tellius kind of shaped us this way.”

“Well, it’s extremely obvious that you all took those trials and prospered.” Lyger finished.

Mia moved over and sat down next to Soren. He felt her arm brush his and turned to face her, seeing her smile. He couldn’t fight off his own urge to smile back.

* * *

_Centra Stronghold_

That night, Soren lay on his bed. He was trying desperately to think about the Order. To form a plan.

But all he could think about was Mia.

_“Focus!”_

He couldn’t let more Order kidnappings happen just to locate them again but that seemed to be the only option. There had to be something. Anything.

Shaking his head he sat up, sleep was definitely not finding him. Once again his thoughts drifted back to Mia. The day had been amazing for the two of them. As soon as she stood up to spar with Leah, the loss of contact against her arm felt so cold.

Shaking his head again he sighed _“What are you doing?”_

Sitting up he prepared to leave only to stop and take a few tomes…just in case.

Stepping outside he looked around, his room was on the third floor of the Stronghold along the western wall. A path circled the massive chamber turning into hallways to the left and across the rest of the room to the east wall, lined with more doors. He eyes the large glass door that opened into the balcony.

_“Maybe a little walk will wear me out.”_

As he did so he couldn’t help but think back.

* * *

_It was very late at the Mercenary fort and as usual, Soren was still up overlooking some forms and taking sips from his glass of water when he heard shuffling. His first thought was a thief of some kind but that’s impossible._

_As the sound came closer he swung around in time for Mia to appear. She barely noted him as she kept walking._

_Tilting his head he approached her “Mia? You alright?”_

_“Ey Sore…in…jus tired…”_

_“Then…go to bed.”_

_“I can…just…stare at seal…in…”_

_Soren raised an eyebrow “And walking around is better?”_

_She laughed at that, probably for no good reason before leaning against a wall and muttering “Where am I?”_

_Soren sighed, taking her arm “Let’s get you back to your room.”_

* * *

He learned the next day from a very embarrassed Mia that she walks around to wear herself out some nights and sometimes falls into a realm between being awake and asleep and talks nonsense.

“I’d rather be talking nonsense than thinking right now anyway…”

“Shorty.”

Turning he spotted Uhnie “What are you doing?”

“Watching my friend.”

Soren sighed “Uhnie. We’re in the stronghold. All the Mercenaries, the Five Pieces and countless Pawns…they won’t be trying anything here.”

Uhnie shook her head “I don’t believe that.”

“Why?”

She gestured to her scar “This one. That Volke gave me…it’s been burning ever since we split up in Usvale. It was very light at first but everytime you leave my sight it grows worse.”

“But I come back every time.”

She nodded “Exactly! It’s like…I can’t tell what its warning me about but whatever it is, its drawing ever closer.”

Soren sighed “Thanks again Uhnie…really but-“

She shook her head “No. I’m staying here.”

Soren crossed his arms “Is this really about being kin?”

The woman scoffed “Soren. I know full well whose bed you want to share.”

The sage looked away as she continued “I’ve never had family. Volke was the closest and since him…the only person I’ve ever felt attachment to was you. Believe me it’s not romantic in the slightest…though I stand by my point that you are very attractive.”

Soren sighed “Either way. Thanks Uhnie and feel free to stick around…I just. I need to think of a plan. We have to stop the Order.”

“I know. We will.”

As the pair fell silent a loud screech was heard, turning to the main entrance Uhnie cursed “No way.”

Sure enough the pair heard yelling before a door burst open and a few Vampires flew in. Soren shook his head “What are they thinking!?”

Uhnie spun her knives and jumped off the railing, down below landing on one of the vampires and sinking her knives into its back. Looking back up she called for Soren.

She watched as he pulled out his tome only for something to grab him from behind and drag him away. Her eyes widening she shook her head “No!” Another vampire slammed into her.

As she rolled across the floor, Ike tore out of his room, swinging Ragnell followed by Shinon emerging from upstairs and feathering a vampire.

Uhnie kicked the creature off of her and spotted Mia “Mia!”

The woman turned in her direction, noting Uhnie pointing to the balcony and yelling “Soren!”

Mia approached the shattered glass door and stepped out onto the balcony, looking over the edge “Soren?” Narrowing her eyes she leapt off and headed down.

* * *

The vampire that grabbed Soren, threw him to the ground and screeched. The sage turned and swung his arm, blasting it away with a gale before noticing three others as well as the fact that they all wore the robes of the Sharks.

Soren cursed as he jumped to his feet, a Vampire slashing towards him, missing as the sage leapt away. Calling on another gale he slammed it against the three vampires pushing them away.

The first one shook itself off and charged him just as Mia landed, using her blade to block the attack. Pushing her opponent away she jumped and kicked him to the ground “You alright Soren?”

“I’m fine…these are the Vampire Sharks that Yuuten was worried about. We have to be careful.”

Mia nodded, spinning her blade before shooting at one of them as Soren summoned several Arcwind currents, using them to strike the other three, keeping them away from Mia as she dueled with her opponent.

Blades clashing she felt that same force that Klein wielded in his spear, pushing her back. She jumped aside as the blade cut through her torso, landing she stopped the follow up strike.

As the creature hissed she broke away and rolled aside, the enemy’s blade sinking into the ground. Leaping up she buried her blade in the Vampire’s back. As it screeched she tore her blade out and jumped away.

“These won’t be going down easy!” She yelled.

Soren nodded and switched tomes, focusing he summoned a tornado around Mia and her opponent. The winds picked up the other three. Smirking Mia kicked the Vampire in front of her into it. Soren twisted them about before breaking the tornado.

Mia leapt into the air and slashed through one of the confused vampires. She landed, followed by the vampire’s body and its head.

Turning she spun her blade as Soren called out “Three more, we can do this.”

“Can you?”

The pair noted another vampire approaching

“Soren correct? Pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Who are you!?” Soren demanded.

Stepping forward, the man wore heavy black robes, beneath them was a blue armored vest. His face was as gray as any vampire though there were a few darker spots along it. His eyes were also green as opposed to the usual blood red or golden and his head was topped with short gray hair.

“I am the Order of Rein’s Ace. Ulyus Rein.”

Mia gripped her blade tighter “Ulyus.”

“Yes. You know why I am here Soren. Make this easier on yourself.”

Soren smirked “The rest of the Mercenaries and the Five Pieces are on their way. Your choices are death or retreat.”

Ulyus laughed “That would be a truth if not for my trump…my vampires will hold their attention for as long as need be. No help is coming.”

Mia shook her head “They’ll get them all and then-”

The Ace laughed “It’ll be too late by then. Soren. You will be coming with us.”

The three Sharks charged them, Mia met two of them, her blade striking theirs, pushing them away but only slightly. She recalled training with Klein, just like how Klein could use the recoil to swing about into another strike she decided that was what she had to do.

Ulyus spoke up as Soren avoided the last vampire’s attacks “By the way. It became apparent that the Sharks’ swords were terrible. Their enhanced strength caused them to shatter too quickly so I replaced them with much better blades. Good luck.”

Shooting a gale into the ground, Soren shot into the air and spun around. A slicing current formed and shot down, cutting through a Shark’s arm. The Shark screeched and flew up at Soren, grabbing him and slamming into the Stronghold’s exterior before turning and throwing Soren to the ground.

Dodging their blades Mia focused on nicking her opponents’ bodies but they barely slowed. Cursing she leapt away from them as their blades hit the ground, landing near Soren as he picked himself up.

Something inside was telling him to unleash his flames, take care of the Sharks now but does he have it in him to take out all three? And what of Ulyus?

“We have to get _him_.” Soren stated.

Mia looked to Ulyus as the three Sharks lined up in front of him “Can we do that Soren?”

“We have to try.”

Mia nodded, shooting forward she slashed at one of the vampires who easily moved aside. As the other two fell on her, Soren spun around and fired a powerful gale that struck Ulyus’ chest and threw him to the dirt.

One of the vampires saw that and hissed, charging Soren, who dove aside, landing near the headless body of the first vampire. Picking up its blade he stopped the oncoming vampire.

Focusing again he fired a point blank gale, throwing the vampire into the wall, before spinning around and releasing his blade, the winds carried it into the vampire, pinning it in place.

Standing up and dusting himself up Ulyus looked up to the moon and smiled before whistling to himself.

Mia pushed her two enemies back, Soren had another shot at Ulyus. Approaching the vampire he spoke “You made a mistake.”

“Did I?”

“Clearly there is no strategist in the Order. All the better for us.”

Ulyus laughed “Indeed there is not because my mind is already far superior and the simplest methods grant the best results.”

Soren heard a blade lock, Mia was holding off the other two swords. Ulyus shot towards her exposed back, eyes widening Soren fired a gale behind him, clearing the distance as quickly as possible.

Mia kicked the vampires away as a powerful gust pushed past her and blood splattered against her back. She turned to see Soren covering her, and Ulyus’ claw ripping clean through the sage. “Soren!”

Laughing the Ace tore his claw out of Soren and stepped away, the vampires joining him. “Your blood may be special but you are still a flawed human.”

Soren gagged, Mia looked at his wound, he needed immediate help. “Mia…get away from here…” he whispered.

She shook her head, feeling tears in her eyes “No. I won’t.”

Ulyus cleared his throat “The man will die. However…if you let me take him, I’ll make sure he lives. I do need him alive after all for my experiments.”

“Then why?” She demanded.

He laughed “Because I’ve put you in a position where there is only one choice to make.”

Mia looked down at Soren who shook his head _“Don’t…do it…”_

“I have to…I won’t let you die…” She muttered as the sage continued to shake his head and plead with her. She whispered so only he could hear him _“You mean everything to me.”_

Soren still shook his head as she looked to Ulyus “Alright…take him…don’t let him die…”

Ulyus smiled “Good choice.” The two vampires walked over, one struck Mia to the ground while the other grabbed Soren and took off.

Mia pushed herself up as Ulyus stepped on her back “I hope your last words to him meant something.”

She looked up at the vampire, unbridled rage in her eyes despite the tear stains.

“That’s a good final expression”

A few arrows struck Ulyus in the back, as he took a few steps away, Mia screamed and stood up, slashing through the Ace as another arrow sunk into his chest. Running forward she buried her blade into him.

Coughing blood he laughed and pulled himself off her blade before striking her to the ground again “You can’t-“

An arrow entered his eye causing him to screech and shoot off into the sky, another arrow cutting through one of his wings.

Shinon ran closer and kept trying to fire, all while cursing before screaming “Coward!”

Uhnie kneeled down next to Mia “Are you okay?”

Ignoring her wounds, Mia could only choke out “They took him…they took Soren…”


	28. Mind of Madness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Mercenaries and the Five Pieces head out to find Soren and destroy the Order of Rein while Soren has an in depth discussion with the Ace: Ulyus Rein.

** Chapter 27 - Mind of Madness **

_Centra Stronghold_

“So this was all a gambit. Openly attacking us with a small force was just meant to distract us so they could take Soren?”

Ike cursed, he felt like punching something but with nothing nearby he just let it burn.

Uhnie shook her head “I’ve known something was wrong…I knew and yet when it was right on top of me…”

“It’s not your fault, there is no way that you could have known that they would rush right into the Stronghold last night. You aren’t psychic.” Shinon stated but the Shade refused to take that.

“I was right next to him and I left him, not even thinking for a second that maybe that’s exactly what they wanted…I let those fucking things get the better of me.”

Shinon put a hand on her shoulder “At least we know which direction they took off in.”

“Yeah! Northwest! Fucking brilliant right? We know where they are now right? Fuck no we don’t! Stop making excuses for me!”

“I’m not making excuses! You’re not seeing what’s in front of you! We have something! That’s better than fucking nothing!”

“Shinon! Uhnie!” The pair turned to Ike with Uhnie looking down and apologizing while Shinon crossed his arms.

Titania joined them “Northwest…what is in that direction?”

Lyger tapped the side of his head “Heogettr sort of…but they can’t be there, there is nowhere to hide there.”

“Are you sure?” Titania asked, the Rook nodded “We have are largest detachment of Pawns over there…we’ve tried to keep Heogettr safe as it’s a business center. It’s worked…mostly…”

“So if they aren’t there…what is beyond that?” Ike asked.

Yuuten looked to Miina who shrugged “Nothing. The northwest edge of Centra is vacant. Nothing but wildlands. It was left as such partly because the last Giants were killed over there. Our predecessors saw fit to leave the land untouched.”

“How big are these wildlands?” Zihark asked.

“Very.” Yuuten answered “If they are out there, we could be searching for longer than we’d like.”

“We have to start somewhere.” Ike stated as he turned to leave the room, Titania, Zihark, Shinon and Uhnie right behind him.

“Where are you going?” Lyger asked.

“To get everyone ready. We’re going to get Soren back.”

* * *

_Order of Rein Laboratory_

Opening his eyes, Ulyus groaned, he noted the emptiness of the room, he must’ve passed out. Upon closer inspection he noticed how…dark the room looked. Bringing a hand up to his face he felt the vacant eye socket and cursed. _“That damn archer.”_

Standing he walked over and opened a desk ripping a cloth apart and wrapping it around his head.

Stepping outside he began walking as Kanahana joined him “Finally up, I thought for sure you were going to die.”

“You would’ve liked that.”

“Indeed…y’know…it’s funny. I could’ve torn your throat out at any time.”

“And yet here I am.”

Kanahana spat “That’s because your mindless dogs Nekyu and Tukero stopped me. Even the lessers refused me access to the patient’s room.”

“Is he alive?” Ulyus asked, continued to ignore Kanahana’s tirade.

“He’ll make it but you did a number on him.”

“All part of the plan.”

The pair came to a stop, Ulyus’ eye finding Kanahana “You will not be anywhere near the treatment wing while he is here.”

“You can’t-“

Ulyus narrowed his eyes and Kanahana felt intense pressure in his head “This…won’t…”

“Then I’ll speak your name.”

Kanahana hissed “I don’t have a name!”

Ulyus smirked “All of us do. Real names. The ones we were originally born with before I changed you all. The agony of the truth will kill you…feel free not to believe me.”

Kanahana spat as Ulyus kept walking, approaching the treatment room he spotted Soren, sleeping and alive.

“Nekyu. Tukero.”

The pair approached, the former producing a blood vial “I didn’t mean to be presumptuous but I figured…it is why he is here after all, yes?”

Ulyus took it, examining it and nodded “Yes…finally…I can begin.”

Tukero crossed his arms “So…we’ve done it?”

Ulyus gestured to a blood vial “Maybe. I have a lot of tests to run with several versions of the serum. We’ll see what it does for that and for the other project. That will give me a baseline.”

Nekyu looked back at room where their prisoner was “We’ll keep him here in case we need more, yes?”

Ulyus put the vial away “I can’t say now…but as far as I’ve gotten it hasn’t been flawless. Either way we’ll decide on what’s next after the first tests are done. All that being said this is the most confident I’ve felt in a long time.”

Tukero grinned “So ultimate power?”

“What? Yes. Yes. Ultimate power.”

At Ulyus statement Tukero laughed as Kanahana narrowed his eyes.

Nekyu bowed to him as he walked off. Tukero sighed “What do we do now? Aside from waiting for Ace to finish his experiments?”

The Spade shrugged “We might need more test subjects.”

Tukero nodded “Maybe but the Sharks you brought in have been taken care of that. What do _we_ do?”

Nekyu shook her head at Tukero’s question. “I actually…don’t know. But Ulyus spent all this time to find the ultimate power so…he has to have something planned for all of us.”

Tukero raised an eyebrow “You don’t sound so sure.”

Nekyu gestured at the room behind her “The man in here is our best bet. We went through a lot and lost many to get him. It has to lead somewhere and I’ve never doubted Ulyus’ motives.”

Kanahana rolled his eyes “That’s why the two of you…no…all of us will be getting nothing out of this.”

Spitting the Joker walked off as Tukero chuckled “He’s just upset he isn’t getting any of the ultimate power.”

As Kanahana stormed off he clenched his fists _“They’re getting close…I need a plan…”_

* * *

_Centra Stronghold_

Mia sat on her bed, staring at nothing.

She kept replaying last night over and over in her head.

_“I could have done something different…right? There had to be something. Something that didn’t end that way…”_

She closed her eyes as a tear fell “I’m sorry Soren…I was desperate. I can’t lose you.”

She shook her head “…or maybe…I already did.”

There was a knock at the door “Mia.”

“Z…I don’t…I’m not…”

“I’ll give you more time Mia…but we’re leaving soon. To get Soren back.”

“I know…I know…”

On the other side of the door, Zihark tried to speak but no words were coming. What could he say? He knew how she felt about Soren, the look in her eyes when he learned that. The love was maybe even deeper than his and Nymie’s.

“Mia.”

Zihark snapped out of his thoughts, seeing Leah.

“Mia. I know you can hear me.”

“…”

“Mia. You are only human. You know that and I fully realize that now. It’s obvious but you are all so amazing in what you do it’s sometimes easy to forget that at the end of the day…we’re flawed people.”

Leah took a deep breath “Things we wish we could stop happen to all of us. You have to accept what happened last night…you did everything you could and you did what you thought was right. You made that decision…and now its time to make another…what are you going to do?”

In her room, Mia clenched her fists and whispered “I’m going to kill them all.”

* * *

_Order of Rein Laboratory_

Opening his eyes slowly, Soren was staring at a white ceiling, turning his head he saw a magical torch hanging, lighting up the whole room. There were several counters open and bloody tools lying around.

_“Where…am I?”_

Moving one hand to his wound he found thick bandages wrapped around him and remembered that Mia let the Order take him in order to save him. He shook his head as the thought came to mind.

_“She should have let me die.”_

“She would never do that.”

_“Your life was not worth saving.”_

Soren tried to sit up only for his muscles to burn and ache. Falling back down he groaned. Thinking about Mia again he sighed “She definitely thought it was…”

There was little doubt he was in the Order’s new base, who knows how far from the rest of the Mercenaries. Now was not the time to wait…he had to find a way to escape.

_“They probably took my blood…but who cares. I’m getting out of here…I won’t die…not here…”_

* * *

_Capital of Unitt_

Titania and Oscar led their horses out of the stables as Ike crossed his arms “We’ve got to get to these wildlands as quickly as possible. No carriages.”

Titania nodded “I agree but we only have the two horses.”

Wyre and Klein joined them with the former speaking “Well with Uhnie and Shinon’s that brings us up to four.”

“Still there are twelve of us not including you two we’d need-“

Yuuten “All of ours.”

The King, Queen and Rook joined them riding their steeds as well as two more.

“This should be just enough for the eighteen of us to pair up.” Miina stated.

Ike nodded to them “Indeed. Thank you.”

“We said that when the final battle came we’d join you in wiping these fuckers out and we meant it.” Lyger stated.

Leah, Mia and Zihark emerged from the Stronghold to see all the horses.

“Looks like we’re all set.” Zihark commented before facing Leah “You sure you want to come along? This is going to be a mess.”

Leah nodded “I know…but through everything…you all believed in me, treated me like a friend. Soren is my friend and I’m going to help you get him back.”

Zihark grinned “Excellent.”

Mia took a deep breath as Zihark faced her “You ready?”

She could only allow herself to nod.

As everyone started pairing up, Titania looked over to Ike “Don’t charge too far ahead, remember. We stick together.”

Ike nodded as Mia mounted his horse “I know. Soren is important to all of us.”

Titania’s eyes moved to Mia _“For some of us, more than others.”_

As the horses started moving, Ike looked to Mia, the look in her eyes was so…foreign.

“Mia.”

Snapping up she faced him “We’ll find him…and he’ll be okay. You know Soren, he won’t give up.”

She nodded slowly “Yeah…”

Ike looked away “And then we’ll face the Order…they made this personal.”

“Their last mistake.” Mia added.

* * *

_Order of Rein Laboratory_

Ulyus’ hands flew over all his samples with desperate speed. He tried to keep together in front of the other vampires but now, he was faced with the very real possibility that this could work!

_“He’s mad!”_

_“Does he understand the implications?”_

_“Consequences!”_

_“Lives lost!”_

_“Illegal…”_

_“Never again!”_

“No. No! You fools!”

Standing he slammed his fists into the counter “You fucking stupid pathetic fools! You couldn’t possibly comprehend what this all means! It’s so obvious but you all looked at it like a joke! You took this gift and squandered it! You took it and destroyed it! You threw it in my face! YOU!”

Screaming he turned and kicked a desk over, sweating now he shook his head “You’ll see…you will all see.”

* * *

Now sitting up, Soren took a deep breath and stood up, he spotted his robe but no tomes _“Of course.”_

Putting it on he approached the door, looking through the window he noted the empty hall. Twisting the knob he found it opened, part of him told him to stay there but the other part needed to know where he was exactly. With that information he could start planning an escape.

That side winning out he opened the door and walked outside. The place was so clean…was this really where the Order of Rein were operating from?

_“They’re a cult of monsters but this place is so. Normal. They said it was their laboratory right? What do they do here?”_

As he walk he focused to try to make out other steps, approaching the end of the hall he looked down two opposite paths. He made out a vampire walking away and turning a corner out of sight.

_“This is it…”_

Still unable to comprehend he walked down the other way, hearing voices he neared the end of the hall and turned to see it opened up into a large room.

He saw four vampires that looked to be in deep conversation. Two were standing while the other two were sitting nearby. Closing his eyes he focused, he may as well listen in and see what he can deduce.

“I seem to recall this was all some sort of…gift.”

One of the sitting vampires stated before looking to another, a woman “Isn’ it, Nekyu?”

“Shut it Diamond.”

The one standing next to her crossed his arms “It is. We were given a taste of the ultimate power that allowed us to become what we are. As powerful as we are. And unlike the lessers, we have our minds.”

“That I understand Tukero…but Ulyus came back with the prey right? He’s working on the ultimate version, the one that will grant us everything, correct?”

The one called Tukero nodded slowly as the last one spoke up “You two are not inspiring confidence. I seem to recall that you were Ulyus’ biggest defenders next to Futarr.”

“How could you know that Club? You just woke up!” Nekyu spat.

Club shrugged “I seem to be aware of my time as a lesser. That aside…what has you two so…uncertain? This is a good thing. At the end of the day, this is what the Order wanted right? To become the ultimate beings.”

Nekyu and Tukero eyed each other with the woman speaking “I suppose…we’ve put so much time and effort into obtaining this. All the missions, the retrieval of the test subjects and finding blood that matched Ulyus’ specifications. If we are truly at the end…it leaves us with very little to do as members of the Order of Rein.”

Diamond gestured around “So this building. All the lessers. We just throw them away?”

“The side project?” Tukero added.

Club sat back “What does it matter? If we become ultimate beings with the real Ultimatum, none of this will be relevant to us anymore. From the way it sounds, we’ll be able to do whatever we want to do. Keep killing? Go ahead.”

Tukero nodded “He’s right.”

Sighing Nekyu gestured around “So we just sit until Ace comes back?”

“Not much else to do.” Diamond stated as he sighed and leaned back in his seat.

Soren narrowed his eyes, was the goal really to become ultimate beings? If so how would the Ultimatum do that? Where did Ulyus learn of this and why does he want it so bad?

What’s the point?

Hearing someone clear his throat, Soren turned and came face to face with Kanahana who just smiled “Listening in eh? Though I can see it left you with more questions than answers.”

Soren noted that he was no longer missing an arm.

Kanahana laughed “What? Nothing witty to say?”

“What do you want Kanahana.”

“Hm?”

“Why go through all this? What are you getting out of it? What will Ultimatum give you?”

Kanahana crossed his arms and chuckled “I’ll be honest with you Soren. I was so occupied with what was in front of me and all my immediate desires I didn’t exactly form a long term plan.”

Soren shook his head “So why?”

The vampire shrugged “Ultimate power…Ulyus assured me early on that it was worth this hideous form. That it could allow us to do whatever and be whatever. At first I thought it was just bullshit. I thought he was just saying that so I wouldn’t try to snap his neck while he slept. But I thought of what I’ve become, the power I had and decided that maybe I should go along with this. When the Ultimatum appeared, the real one, I’d take it because I want it for myself.”

Soren narrowed his eyes as Kanahana continued “If it could truly grant us anything than I want _this_.”

The man gestured at himself “Gone.”

“You want your humanity back?”

Kanahana smiled “Why do you sound so surprised?”

“Do you…know who you were before this?”

The vampire thought back “No…it’s…fuzzy…but I don’t care about that I just want my old body back.”

Before Soren could speak the vampire brought his arm up “But I don’t want it to be a good man. I want to keep this power but not the form.”

“…so it’s pure selfishness?”

“We all have our petty and pride ridden deals.”

Soren glared at the vampire as he leaned in close “No one is unique. We are all…monsters.”

At that moment Kanahana felt a pain in his head. Shaking it away he grabbed Soren “It’s your lucky day. Ulyus wants to speak with you.”

* * *

_To The Wildlands_

“Ike…”

He looked back to Mia “Yeah?”

“I…I’m…”

He sighed “Angry?”

“I let them take him…you should be furious with me.”

Ike shook his head “If you didn’t he’d be dead.”

“What if I waited, held them off.”

Ike looked back ahead “They weren’t fighting they were evading, flying around, distracting. Anytime we tried to disengage they’d assault us and drag us back into the conflict. The odds of someone reaching him in time, specifically Mist or Wyre just…they weren’t good…and Mia, you definitely shouldn’t be thinking about if you fought them.”

“But maybe-“

“You could have easily been killed. Almost were if not for Shinon…we can’t lose you.”

He heard sniffling and looked back at Mia, he wasn’t sure what to do. He rarely saw her cry “Mia…if it’s something I said-“

“It’s not…I’m just so scared for Soren…what are they going to do to him?”

Ike shook his head “I wish I knew…they want his blood but-“

“Who knows if that’s where they’ll stop…”

Ike released a heavy sigh “You two are partners…you place your lives and trust completely with each other. I can understand why you blame yourself but don’t.”

“It’s not just that Ike…it was never just that…”

“What?”

“I didn’t…I don’t spend all my time with Soren. Training with Soren. Fighting alongside him because we’re partners…that’s just a convenient way of…being with him.”

Ike raised an eyebrow “Being with him?”

She nodded before meeting Ike’s eyes. Before he could say anything it hit him like a Goldoan Dragon.

“Oh…shit…you…”

He tried to comprehend what he just learned “How long? Since…when did this…”

Mia couldn’t help but chuckle as she wiped her eyes “Titania was right…you never could figure these things out on your own. Even now.”

Ike sighed “I suppose not…we’ll get him back Mia. I swear it.”

She nodded “I know.”

“And then we’ll cut Ulyus’ head off.”

* * *

_Order of Rein Laboratory_

Kanahana shoved Soren into the room and closed the door.

The place was a mess, a few desks thrown over and Ulyus was sitting in a chair.

He gestured to his head “My mind…is full of so much…”

Soren moved away from the door, taking a seat. “Is that what you wanted to see me for?”

“My mind has always been full of…so much…do you know what that is like?”

Soren remained silent as Ulyus let out a heavy sigh “You can’t stop thinking. You can’t stop wanting to understand. You can’t stop asking questions. You can’t stop seeking answers.”

Standing Ulyus gestured behind him to where Soren saw countless vials with various liquids of different shades.

“This is my life’s work. Ultimatum.”

“And you are showing me this…”

Ulyus walked over to Soren and kneeled in front of him “Because someone out there has to understand this. Someone has to REALIZE WHAT THIS IS!”

Standing up, the man screeched before turning and grabbing a desk, throwing it against a wall. “IT IS THE ANSWER TO EVERYTHING!”

Soren remained calm as Ulyus took several heavy breaths “What is Ultimatum?”

“It. Is. Everything.”

Ulyus looked back “You see…I knew many things before…I foolishly thought I knew everything…but then something changed and I was shown the light. There is far too much out there. No one in the world could possibly have the time to know everything no matter how hard they tried.”

Soren crossed his arms “So in the end…you are another Hilt.”

Ulyus remained silent as the sage continued “He was comfortable in his position in life…the renowned strategist for his land’s King. Brave. Selfless. At least until he learned of other lands. Then all he wanted was for everything to belong to him. He wanted everyone’s peace.”

Ulyus grinned “I don’t want peace. I want knowledge. I want answers. But I realized that life is far too short…so I theorized…is there a way that one can enhance one’s life time? Could you make it so a man or woman could grow to be one hundred years old? Two hundred? Five hundred? A thousand? Surely in all that time one could uncover all of life’s secrets…unless they can’t. Then what?”

Soren looked to the vials “Immortality.”

Ulyus laughed and jumped up and down “So you do understand?”

“Those can…make you immortal?”

The vampire sat back down “They should be able to. The science is there! The theory is there! The proof!”

He gestured to himself “Is here. As long as I suck the blood of other living beings I can prolong my life…indefinitely? I don’t think so but I could theoretically live for hundreds of years this way. But that’s not good enough. The need to suck blood…to feed off other’s lives was not the goal of my endeavor.”

Soren shook his head “You aren’t a monster. This isn’t a cult. It’s a…science experiment?”

Ulyus nodded as Soren tried to wrap his head around it “Then who are you?”

The leader of the Order of Rein tapped his chest “I was once the Former Bishop of the Five Pieces…Tallnit.”

The sage brought a hand to his head “What? How!?”

He stood and sighed “As I said. My mind has always been full of so much. Through all my years living in Hitenticul I sought to learn all this lands secrets. Centra’s history, Staer’s origin and what transpired on Pohelle before people started living there. The life of the Sage Centra, who was she? Who were her parents? The Giants…how were they born? Did we truly have to kill them all? I wanted to know so I sought the knowledge…the Pieces named me Bishop for my immesurable talents and I held many speeches all over Hitenticul, telling people what I learned of the land. But that was just a prelude…I realized that the surface was not even scratched once I met Erektoss and Neteau from Thyremog. THAT was the true beginning for me…my true obsession with knowledge came from the understanding that Thyremog existed. How?”

Soren watched as Ulyus or rather…Tallnit paced the room. He thought he should try to find a way to strke him, to escape but his inquisitive mind was running rampant “Do any of your lands know of the Great Flood?”

Ulyus turned to him “The Great Flood?”

“An event from Tellius history that we long believed dragged all lands in our world beneath the seas except for Tellius.”

Ulyus crossed his arms and shook his head “No…could such a thing have happened. I must know…”

Shaking his head chuckled as he approached Soren “Don’t you SEE? I can’t NOT know. It drove me insane and eventually I shut myself away from the other Five Pieces. Erektoss’ voyage…that man could not have been the first to theorize or believe there were other lands out there. Were there foreign visitors before him? Were there men and women of Hitenticul who left the Islands in the past? As I grew older I quickly realized that there wasn’t enough time. The answers that I wanted. That I needed. I could enver attain in my limited lifetime. So I decided, what if life did not have to be limited? I put all my thought into that, days bled into weeks as I sat at my desk and before I knew it I was 65 and there were still so many questions…I could no longer keep my eyes open late into the night. I forgot many things I read…I couldn’t keep going like that so I retired as Bishop three years ago…I told my fellow Pieces I felt I failed Hitenticul…it was a partial truth, I failed the world. I also realized that the world I was so interested in…I saw nothing of it. I needed to see it for myself…so I took my idea to a wily captain and he decided if he died on a pointless voyage it’d be legend so he took me and his men into the unknown…the trip was dangerous, there was an attempted mutiny at some point but the captain stomped it out and next thing I knew the captain called out land! Land!”

Soren raised an eyebrow “Where did you land?”

Ulyus shrugged “Doesn’t matter…what does matter is what I found. See the locals were fascinated by me. My knowledge. Several asked if I was a researcher at a specific institution. I said I wasn’t so a few recommended I travel to the greatest research building in their land.”

Soren remained silent as Ulyus, now seeming more like a desperate old man than angry, dangerous vampire sat down again and whispered “The Euto Research Center…”

“Never heard of it.”

“Neither did I at the time.” Ulyus sighed “But there were so…so many bright minds…they didn’t care who or where I was from. I explained my research into extending life…the poor theories I had and they decided there had to be something there so for two years I worked with those brilliant minds under the watchful eye of the Head Researcher: Kolkem, perhaps the most brilliant mind of all. And I found it…a strain and serum that presented the best…chance…not only to treat sickness but mortality itself. My fellow researchers decided that it did warrant more research so we put our efforts there. I named the substance Ultimatum for it would grant us the ultimate gift.”

“Then what happened? Why are you here? Kidnapping people?”

Ulyus laughed “The research fell apart. We needed blood and tissue samples but those from cadavers proved to break apart the substance. We needed living samples, living test subjects…Kolkem didn’t think it wise. I suggested we look for those dying of sicknesses…maybe we could save them. He still wouldn’t budge so I took matters into my own hands and brought Ultimatum I to a sickly man…I observed his reactions…his failing lungs grew stronger but the rest of his body began failing, soon he couldn’t pick himself up from the bed at all and died. Using that I formed a new Ultimatum II and visited another person and another…eventually I decided maybe I needed a healthy test subject so I approached someone with Ultimatum VIII and not only did it not help, there violent reaction led to them dying a bloody mess on the street.”

Soren shook his head “Why didn’t you stop?”

“Stop? STOP!? **WHY DIDN’T I STOP!?** What scientist…what researcher would have THIS! The possibility of _THIS!_ AND STOP!?”

The vampire laughed as if incapable of believing Soren would suggest such a thing “Stopping was not an option I HAD to have this! If I gave it up I would be faced with succumbing to my old age! I would face my mortality and lose all the knowledge I built up! All of it! That could not happen…I couldn’t just die…”

Soren clenched his teeth “Yes you could. You wouldn’t lose everything, you’d be able to leave your research to someone else! Maybe-”

Ulyus stood up and shook his head “NO! They wouldn’t be able to comprehend it! They’d destroy it! Just like Kolkem. I came back to the Euto Research Center, they learned what I had done and excommunicated me, destroyed all my research. With no test subjects and no way of knowing what to do next I created one last Ultimatum with all I had left…Ultimatum XVI…and used it on myself. If it killed me…everything would be lost…”

He then started chuckling “But it didn’t! I grew stronger, like I was twenty again! Far better! I could lift massive boulders and a kick from me would shatter them! I had to return to Hitenticul with my discovery…so after those two years abroad I sought out the captain and told him I wanted to return home. The fool said he loved the new land! The city of Euto was his new home! Something about finding love at first sight and a family or whatever…in the end he had no desire to leave…no one else knew the way back to Hitenticul aside from his second who wanted to go home so I…snapped the captain’s neck and off we went.”

The sage shook his head “You were always a monster.”

“No! I was determined! That stupid man wanted to stop me from bringing immortality to my home! That fool! There are so many FOOLS out there who just wave off HUMANITY’S SAVING GRACE!”

Ulyus took a deep breath and began pacing again “Unfortunately the second was not a good captain and the ship crashed. They all died…but what truly mattered was that I survived and by some miracle I drifted to Hitenticul…that told me that what I was doing was right. Nine months ago I was on Staer and demonstrated to people what I, a 67 year old man was capable of. They volunteered and the experimentation continued…some died, others changed…losing their sense of self. Others were driven insane…it got out what was happening and the subjects stopped coming. I took the Ultimatums that didn’t kill my subjects and with each one I changed. Claws. Teeth. My old skin died replacing it with this tougher gray skin. The last one Ultimatum XXII gave me these.”

He gestured to his wings “I put them all together into Ultimatum XXIII. It would work…it had to…but I couldn’t test it on myself after all the other versions. How could I approach someone looking like I did? As I thought of this I began to grow tired…feeling like I was truly 67 again…it was failing. Desperately I went out in the night and cornered a man, begging him to help with my research. Of course he didn’t want to because I looked like a monster…but…all of a sudden I found myself sinking my teeth into him, taking his blood I felt my strength return.”

Soren narrowed his eyes “So that’s how you knew…and that’s how you became…this.”

“I was no longer Tallnit. So I called myself Ulyus after the captain who took me to that other land in the first place and Rein after the man whose blood I took. I was now set to discover something new. Using my new self I took a person and injected them with XXIII turning them into what I was…I eventually named this species: Vampire. I tried to get my new kin to help but they were rabid and wild. Why did it turn me into this but others into dogs?”

“Let me guess…you had to know?”

Ulyus laughed picking up Soren by the collar and whispering “I did! I had to!” Dropping Soren he turned away.

“I determined that I wanted this so it changed me…there had to be others who wanted more from life so I injected more people. None worked until one day one of the vampires…this one I remember…as a man he was originally trying to steal from my research…I changed him so he could work for me as punishment. The fool attacked me and injected himself with more XXIII. He regained thought. He knew who he was, where he was and what I did. However he didn’t know his name so I granted him one. Kanahana. After that I tested XXIII out on the others, some became stronger but nothing else, one other came to…Futarr. I eventually set up a hierarchy, those of us who knew who we were, became the commanders the others remained lessers who did our work for us.”

Ulyus smiled “My research was evolving…there had to be something there so I broke apart XXIII and used its elements I constructing a new wave of Ultimatum. Though there was an attempt made to stop me…to stop all of this…”

Soren raised an eyebrow “By who?”

Ulyus chuckled “At the time I had no idea who they were, these dogs that wanted to destroy my research. One was the Knight Klein Kruse…before he became Knight and the other was his partner…something Erent. They wanted to destroy my Order for a small attack that was directed at them and they wanted to take _my_ blood. MY BLOOD! The fools…but after watching them kill my commanders, I deemed them worthy. I let them push me to the edge and when their guards were down I had Kanahana and Futarr inject them with my newest Ultimatum. XXVII. What happened after gave me even more hope in my research.”

Ulyus pointed at Soren “I’m sure you noticed Kruse has no wings yet? He didn’t grow them but he was still capable of flight in addition to being far more powerful. He could even understand me! Something that usually took two injections of XXIII. He couldn’t speak but he was the most obedient lesser I had. Erent on the other hand grew far…far too powerful once he lost his mind. He was stronger than Futarr, Kanahana and myself. We were barely able to hold our own, I thought he’d kill us right then and there until he wore himself out. His form, for all its strength, needed more blood and much more frequently. I decided to lock him up until I could figure out what was so different about XXVII. Our first breakthrough came from the knowledge that they weren’t of Hitenticul…their blood gave me renewed hope so I ordered even more test subjects than ever before from all over Centra. It didn’t matter who, we needed to cover every possible angle…I was getting closer. Have you ever wondered why we use the names of cards and suits? Not only is it a reminder of my days as Bishop but a statement that al this, the Order of Rein is a desperate gambit…a bamgle with lives to find the secret of immortality. ”

 “So all the kidnappings. All the murders. The broken familes. All of it was for Ultimatum? For you to gain immortality?”

Ulyus shook his head “No, no, no, NO! **FOR HUMANITY!** Can you imagine what we could all accomplish as a species if we never died? Putting out minds together as immortal beings we’ll solve all the problems that plague the world! Do you understand my goal now? I aim to perfect humanity!”

Soren stood “Your goal may have been pure at first but look at all the innocent people you killed! The children! The newborns!”

Ulyus sighed “Terrible losses but they forwarded my goal, it wasn’t in vain.”

Soren closed his eyes “You are a monster.”

**“I AM HUMANITY’S SAVIOR! I AM ITS PROTECTOR!”**

Ulyus sprang forward, striking Soren, throwing him into a wall. As he stood he spat “I am its protector and no one will stop me from saving us all. You. Soren. Like Kruse and Erent are from a foreign land, yet within your own subset you hold blood far more unique than anyone else in your merry band. You will remain here as the source for testing out all the new variations of Ultimatum…and depending on what they do you could very well be responsible for saving humanity.”

Soren shook his head “I want nothing to do with your goal!”

“So selfish…Soren, your blood could hold the answer to mortality itself! And besides with no magic, no blades. What could you possibly do to me?”

Soren turned to face Ulyus who smiled “The black flames? Kill me? Alright. Then what of the other dozens upon dozens of Vampires in here? The Sharks? Can you kill them all? You’ll wear yourself out eventually and die…or we’ll kill you. I may be the Ace but only Nekyu and Tukero are tied to me…my promise is all that holds back most the other vampires but especially Kanahana.”

Ulyus approached Soren “The crazed man wants me dead…he thinks I’m unaware but I know he wants Ultimatum for himself. He is the truly selfish one. So Soren. What are you going to do?”

Soren narrowed his eyes, watching Ulyus’ one eye. He could unleash his flames. They may kill him…but what if they didn’t? No he had to wait.

Ulyus smirked “I thought so…follow me to your…room.”

Opening the door Ulyus walked out, gesturing for Soren to follow.

The pair walked down a hall, not noticing Kanahana standing out of sight, the vampires claws were buried so deeply in his hands, they drew blood.

“I am no dog.”

As the pair continued walking through the facility, Soren thought of everything that Ulyus told him and he started to fear…himself.

_“Is my mind like his? One of madness? If I allow myself to…continue on my path…to continue my questions…will I lose myself?”_

At that moment he wanted nothing more than Mia to appear and talk to him. She’d convince him he was being a fool, she’d make everything better as she always did. He realized that he wanted her at his side…always.

The voices in his head tried to tell him that line of thinking was wrong but they were drowned out by Mia’s voice from years ago.

_“Well you are super smart, like wow you must have a massive brain…but because of that you sometimes overcomplicate the simplest things.”_

Despite the fact that Ulyus stepped aside and shoved Soren into a cell, locked the door and walked away. Soren didn’t care.

Ulyus may be Tallnit, he may be trying to create a line of immortal monsters and he may be nearing success but for the moment, that was the last thing on Soren’s mind.

Because he just realized that all this time he spent asking the whys and maybes in regards to Mia. In regards to how he felt.

Looking at the ‘problem’ from every single angle.

The answer was right there.

Mia gave it to him.

He was going to get out of here. He and the Mercenaries were going to stop the Order, they would save this land’s people because he needed the opportunity.

He needed the opportunity to tell her.


	29. Deathmatch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kanahana seeks to satiate his bloodlust, Soren plans an escape and the Mercenaries reach the Wildlands.  
> The final battle begins...

**Chapter 28 - Deathmatch**

_Order of Rein Laboratory_

Kanahana crossed his arms as Ulyus walked by him. The Ace seemed…older. Worn out.

“Ace.”

“I’m not in the mood for your chats Joker.”

Kanahana smirked, falling into step next to him “Of that I can tell. How do the projects fare? Are we sending out any of us again?”

Ulyus shook his head “Not yet…the side project is as good as its going to get. As for the main project…I’m not done.”

Kanahana sighed “We sent the Vampire Sharks back to Quadnis to tear the arms of their brethrens off! You have blood samples from all those damned foreigners and have you done anything aside from glare and rant at them? Is this all really for some ultimate power? You keep saying that but you never really explained to us _what_ Ultimatum really is!”

Ulyus stopped and looked to the other vampire “What was your name again?”

Kanahana clenched his teeth “You can’t keep holding that over my head.”

“I can…I did it…just for you, Kanahana. You were a delinquent human and you are a trying vampire. I only keep you around for your strength. Don’t make me utter your name.”

Kanahana stepped away “Alright then…Master…”

As Joker walked away he smirked _“Didn’t answer my question…all this…for nothing…”_

Ulyus reentered his office. His hands shaking, it’s been so long. Does he really have the answer in the vials before him? Will this solve everything?

The very idea that it might was keeping him back. Clenching his fists he shook his head “No. This is for humanity…I must…continue.”

* * *

_Order of Rein – Prison_

Soren sat on his bed, focusing.

He realized that in getting lost in thought about Mia he missed a key opportunity to map out the facility as Ulyus led him to his cell.

He wanted to kick himself but as he thought of Mia again his heart just hammered in his chest. Shaking his head he took a deep breath _“I can think of her later…come on…focus. I have to get out of here.”_

He was at least able to note the frequency of the vampire patrols outside his cell. They were always on the dot. If he was armed he’d break out at any time but he had no tomes, no staff, no knives, no sword and he had no clue where his were taken. If anything they were destroyed or thrown away.

He looked to his hands, clenching his fists as a small black flame formed.

_“Ike. I know you are on your way. I need you to get here as soon as possible.”_

* * *

_Elsewhere_

“No…I won’t give in…I won’t…but he might be on his way there. This may be the opportunity I need…but not like this…and not yet…everyone needs to stop conspiring against me. I. Need. This…and I will have it.”

* * *

_Centra Wildlands_

Titania brought her horse to a stop near Ike “Here we are.”

Ike nodded “Do you think they’ll be hiding in a cave again?”

Titania shrugged “I’m not sure…if so it may prove difficult to find them. With any luck that isn’t the case.”

Mist behind Titania crossed her arms “It doesn’t matter how long it takes.”

Mia nodded “We will find Soren.”

Ike remained silent as Titania reached over and put a hand on his shoulder “Hey.”

He looked to her “Soren is strong. He’ll be find…for all we know he already has a plan in place and we have to be there to back him up when the shit goes down.”

He smirked “Indeed we will. Thank you, Titania. As always.”

“I’m not just here for my skill in battle and my looks right?”

Ike chuckled before looking back to the other Mercenaries “Alright everyone, we’ll be moving in on foot just in case the vampires are here and keeping watch.”

As Ike dismounted he continued “Stick with your partner.”

The Mercenaries called out affirmations as Lyger yelled “These fuckers die today!”

Ike nodded to the Rook as the group split up.

* * *

_Order of Rein Laboratory_

Ulyus stood before his latest batch, tapping his chin.

“One of these could very well be…it…but…”

He looked out the window to the Vampires waiting at attention and Nekyu and Tukero talking amongst themselves.

_“If I test out the correct one on one of those…things I created…they’ll gain immortality before me.”_

“This for all of humanity. Not just me.”

_“Is that true? Soren was right. You are a monster. This is all for you.”_

“But humanity will benefit…”

Looking to the vials he picked one up. Ultimatum XXXII. Then he glanced at XXXI and XXXVI.

“Do I need another test subject? Maybe…but what if…”

Shaking his head he swallowed XXXII whole and muttered “This was all for me first and foremost…the vampires were a sad mistake…I’ll let them die off. This is about. Me.”

Standing still, Ulyus waited for anything to change, he was growing frustrated before glancing at the other six he prepared.

_“This has to do something. Something has to change!”_

He could feel the desperation returning as he took XXXI and swallowed it as well. The wear and rust in his body seemed to vanish…he felt lighter again but something told him this wasn’t it.

“One of these has to do SOMETHING MORE!”

Outside his office, Kanahana peered in from around a corner. Shaking his head the Joker took his leave.

* * *

_Order of Rein – Prison_

In his cell Soren stood in front of the door, silent and looking at his hands. He could easily melt through the cell door to get out…he just had to make sure there were no vampires nearby. However their patrol rate would be very problematic. He couldn’t risk them seeing him and he needed a good headstart on them to get far enough away for anything to matter.

Turning around he noted the cell wall. He could burn a hole through it but would that lead outside or just into a bigger cave system? Or into nothing if he was entirely underground?

_“Come on Soren, what is this amateur nonsense. You need a fool proof plan to get out of here NOW.”_

“Hey.”

Soren took a step away from the door “Kanahana.”

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what Ulyus wants…I take it he told you quite a bit…”

“He told me everything.”

“Of course he did. I was there the whole time…listening to the old man blab on and on about this and that.”

Soren narrowed his eyes, “Did you not know anything? Does anyone in the Order know what the real reason for it is? Who Ulyus was?”

Kanahana laughed “Of course not! You see…Ulyus kept us in the dark in regards to Ultimatum for the longest time. I like many others believed it to be as he said. The ultimate power but as thanks to him letting his guard down and allowing himself to rant I now know none of this was his direct intention. The power granted to us, the vampires as a whole were byproducts of an old man trying to cheat death. How pathetic is that?”

Soren crossed his arms “So what are you going to do?”

Kanahana chuckled “Your first guess is probably that I’m going to go up and turn his commanders on him. You are not at all aware of how devoted Nekyu and Tukero have allowed themselves to become. They won’t see Ulyus for the liar that he is until it’s too late…no…this works better for me and me alone knowing that there is nothing of worth in the Order. That there never was.”

Soren remained silent as Kanahana took a deep breath “What he told you about my name was true. We don’t know our real names and should he recite them we may very well lose our minds and say what you will about me. I like my mind. I may no longer be able to regain my humanity…but Ulyus owes me for all the lies, the abuse. Everything.”

After a short silence the vampire let out a breath “So I’ve been biding my time. Something will take his focus off me and allow me to act…take Ultimatum for my own use and wipe him and his precious Order out. You see…what he and his dogs don’t understand is that _I_!”

Kanahana slammed his fist against Soren’s cell door before whispering “…am the real monster…”

After a few moments Soren spoke “Why tell me this?”

The Joker laughed “Because there are things that I want and I will have them…and you and your foreign friends are going to help me!”

“What?”

“Don’t worry too much about it Soren. You have no real value to me…not anymore.”

The sage stood rooted in place as Kanahana’s laughs faded away. Once he was certain the vampire was gone he sat back on his bed and shook his head thinking everything over _“Ulyus has known from the start that Kanahana had to be kept on a short leash. The vampire wanted the Ultimatum all for himself…but now that he knows it isn’t what he was led to believe…he’s going to burn everything down and for what?”_

Soren looked back at the cell door. Kanahana wanted ultimate power, his humanity and it seems that the vampire has no interest in being able to live forever. What would the vampires of the Order get out of Ultimatum aside from an eternity of drinking blood? Were they always to be thrown away? A species Ulyus himself didn’t really care for despite the fact that he created it?

Playing back his conversation with Ulyus about Ultimatum and his origin, Soren sighed and shook his head “It was always for himself, wasn’t it?”

The sage tried to think of his blood in Ulyus’ hands. What did it do? What could it do? Would it really create something that could grant someone eternal life? If it could…

_“I don’t think falling in love with a Beorc is a good idea. You’ll outlive this person. All that will come from this is pain and suffering…you’ve had enough of that all your life.”_

Soren shook the thought of his head, _“No. No…”_

Before he could spare it any additional thought, he noticed something off. Focusing on the hall beyond the door he noted silence. That wasn’t right, the patrol was late. That never happened before…

Not wanting to act to rashly, he waited for the next patrol which did not come and neither did the next.

Approaching the door he shook his head. Was something going on out there? Where did the guards go? They didn’t go through all that trouble to capture him and screw up routine duties.

Next thing he knew he heard a small snap and stepped away as his cell door fell to the ground. _“What in the world?”_

Stepping forward slowly he looked outside to see that the cavelike prisons continued for a bit in both directions. Everything in his mind was telling him this was some sort of trap, but he couldn’t just stand in an open cell and wait for…something else.

“I’m already in enemy territory…going anywhere else is an improvement.”

He said to himself before moving outside and walking through the cave. _“I could look for an exit or try to find a weapon.”_

He quickly decided on the latter as he was absolutely certain that a battle was coming. Peering around a corner he spotted nothing but continuous caves. He needed to find a way back up but with any luck there was something down here he could use. Nodding to himself he continued into the dark.

* * *

_Order of Rein Laboratory_

Exiting his office. Ulyus took a deep breath “Damn it…nothing…again…”

Shaking his head he continued “There has to be something there…there has to be this blood…the bases…the unique nature of Kruse, his comrade and Soren’s have to do something.”

Ulyus was too frantic in his desire to create something new, before he knew it he had used all of his newest blood.

“I need more samples.”

Closing his eyes he focused _“Spade. Heart. Bring me the sage.”_

 _“Yes Ace.”_ They responded.

Ulyus walked over to a window and looked out over the Wildlands, he swore he saw something move out there. Shaking his head he looked down “That would be impossible…”

Peering outside again, Spade and Heart’s thoughts came to him. _“He’s gone!”_

Ulyus swung about “What!? NO! **NO!** ” Spreading his wings he shot through the facility and screeched “Find him! FIND HIM!”

* * *

_Centra Wildlands_

Mia walked through the heavy overgrowth, alone. She was trying to keep a lid on her raging temper and failing. She felt her muscles tense up at any sound, she wanted nothing more than to whip her blade out and cut someone’s head off.

She replayed Leah’s words, she knew he was right. She did her best, she did what she could but…she still let Soren go.

“Hey there missy.”

Turning around she spotted Lyger approaching, holding Castle over his shoulder “I don’t think you’re supposed to be alone.”

“My partner…”

She looked down as Lyger sighed “I know. I know. But don’t worry too much. He is anything but a frail mage.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Lyger laughed “How can you not be? I’ve only heard of what you and the rest of your group have done. You lived it. You know what he is capable of.”

Mia nodded “I do.”

“Now come on. Let’s get to searching.”

As the pair started walking Mia looked over to the Rook again “Did you forgive your brother?”

“I kind of had to. He’s my brother. I’m stuck with him for my whole life, can’t stay angry with him.”

Mia looked forward again as Lyger spoke up “I take it you want Ulyus’ head?”

“…”

“There are quite a few of us who want him dead. Wyre for all the families. Kruse for what was done to him. Yuuten for the terror brought to the land.”

Mia nodded “I understand all that…but he took my partner…my…he made it far beyond personal when he came for Soren himself. I understand everyone else’s fury…but my blade will be the last thing he sees.”

“Heh. Good to hear it. With that attitude I have no doubt…do you see that?”

The pair came to a stop and looked ahead at a wall of plant growth. Mia was about to ask what when she noticed that the plants were covering a white structure of sorts. It didn’t look like a mass of rocks or a small cliff.

“A…building?”

Lyger shook his head “Impossible…”

The two eyed each other. Realizing what they found they headed back to tell Ike.

* * *

_Order of Rein Laboratory – Underground_

Continuing his search, Soren could barely make out what sounded like a mass of moving…things.

Approaching the noise he came to two large bolted doors, peering through the barred windows he saw countless vampires. The lessers. Despite the size of the cell it was clearly stuffed to the brim. Just how many people did Tallnit experiment in all these months?

One of the lessers noticed him and lunged at the door, slamming against it. Another joined it, then another.

Soren backed away slowly as they continued to screech at him.

“Diamond! Check down there!”

Hearing the voice, female, Nekyu he took off in the opposite direction just as Diamond appeared. The vampire rolled his eyes and kicked the door before calling back “Just the lessers acting up again.”

“Keep looking! Club and Tukero have the other side.”

Diamond spat, the caves down here were far too complex. He had no desire to search them all. A quick go around and a report to Nekyu that he found nothing would have to be the way to go.

Soren cursed as Diamond started walking in his direction and took off further into the caves. _“If he came from above…then I have to find a way to circle around.”_

Continuing on his way, Soren kept a wary eye behind him, he was in no position to get caught.

* * *

_Centra Wildlands_

Ike and Titania came to a stop, looking in the direction Lyger and Mia gestured the man nodded. “That’s it?”

“We believe so.” Lyger stated “When we said nothing happens out here we meant it. If that isn’t where the Order is hiding, I’ll eat Castle.”

Titania shook her head “Won’t be necessary. Klein, remember anything?”

As the Knight joined them along with Wyre he closed his eyes “No…I can’t but Lyger’s right. That has to be it.”

As more of the Mercenaries joined the group. Ike looked to Titania who brought her axe up without a word and nodded. Ike smirked “Then we have our target. Its time to get Soren back.”

Facing his company Ike spoke “Stick with your partners, we’re all moving in together. It doesn’t matter how many of those things come at us, we’re wiping them all out and getting Soren back. This is personal. Not just to us as Soren’s allies but as his friends.”

The Mercenaries nodded as Yuuten joined Ike “I know this wasn’t your issue, this wasn’t your fight and even now you are driven primarily by the need to recover your friend. But I would like to thank you all…what we do now will free Hitenticul from the Order’s terror. Nothing I can say can truly express my gratitude.” The Rook, Queen, Knight and Bishop bowed slightly as Yuuten and Ike nodded to each other.

Ike pulled out Ragnell and Alondite, turning to face the facility and led the charge.

Mia herself took out her Wo Dao and took a deep breath, she turned to see Leah and Zihark at her side “We’re doing this together.” The Daein stated.

“And we will not fail.” Leah added.

“Z. Leah. Thank you.” Facing forward she shot off with the two swordsmen close behind.

* * *

_Order of Rein Laboratory_

_“Master Ulyus!”_

“What is it Tukero I-“

_“The Foreigners are attacking!”_

Turning his gaze he flew for the window and saw them approaching, the first wave of vampires shot out to meet them.

“No…no, no, NO! Not when I’m so close! Listen to me my vampires! The prize is in our hand! Stop them! Kill them all!”

The vampires screeched and began shooting out into the field en masse as Ulyus started heading down beneath the facility.

_“You all made a terrible mistake.”_

* * *

_Order of Rein Laboratory – Underground_

Soren watched Diamond as he lazily walked through the cave, barely casting a glance left or right. As the man left his sight Soren began to count, he’d soon break for the path to take him above ground.

Hearing something he turned quickly and came face to face with a Vampire Shark, heavy black robe concealing all his features.

Soren’s eyes fell to the creature’s blade. He had no means of attack but maybe-

Suddenly the Vampire Shark threw its blade to Soren’s feet. It stood there for a few more moments before turning and walking away, back into the shadows.

The sage had many questions but none of them mattered. _“The sooner I can get out of here, the better.”_

Picking up the blade he took off.

* * *

_Laboratory Exterior_

“Wipe them out!” Club screeched as his vampires shot out of the facility and headed towards the Mercenaries.

Ike leapt into the air and swung his blades, one beam slammed against a vampire and threw it to the ground where Titania brought her axe into its chest. The other beam cut off a vampire’s wing. It crashed to the ground near Yuuten who quickly stabbed it in the head with Checkmate.

Spinning around, his cape flared out as a vampire landed near him and tried to gore him. Checkmate shot out, stabbing the creature in the chest several times before ripping through the neck.

“Wyre! Miina!”

“On it!” The Queen yelled back as Boyd covered her, bringing his axe into a vampire, slamming the writhing creature into the ground. As it tried to get the axe off, Oscar landed nearby and speared it in the head.

Ranulf rolled into a ball and shot past the pair, slamming into a vampire. Landing he roared and shot back into the vampire, snapping its neck with his jaw. “Ranulf!” The cat leapt aside as two more vampires tried to tackle him.

Shinon spun an arrow and let it fly, right through one of the creature’s skulls. Uhnie leapt into the air and tackled a vampire, rolling across the ground with it. As she leapt off its body, Gatrie stepped closer and ran it through.

Quickly tearing the weapon out he rammed the end of it into another vampire’s stomach. Uhnie quickly fell upon that one as well, slashing its neck open. Gatrie covered her with his shield, bouncing another pair of vampires away, arrows from Rolf joining Shinon’s and feathering the vampires to death.

“You are surprisingly quick big man.”

Gatrie smirked as he swung his greatlance around, knocking a few vampires to the floor, allowing Klein, Mist and Lyger to slam their weapons into them.

“Thanks! I try.”

With a smirk, Uhnie flipped into the air, throwing a knife into a vampire’s eye. It screeched and crashed into the ground near Wyre who zapped it to death before stepping over to Miina and nodding. As the pair pulled out their tomes, Zihark, Leah and Mia took up formation around them and began cutting down approaching vampires.

Zihark roared and shot off first, ducking under several claws, his blade cutting one of the creature’s arms off. As it screeched he jumped back into formation allowing Leah to shoot out and stab a nearby vampire in the heart. Ripping his blade out he dodged another attack and flipped around, kicking a vampire to the floor, spinning his blade he sunk it into the creature’s skull.

Leaping back into line Mia spun her blade, the vampires faced three of her, using the confusion she quickly cut several of them down, one noticed her and went in for a tackle. Leah was there before she could act and killed it. Nodding to each other they jumped back into line just as Miina called out “Ready?”

Wyre nodded, holding the books out there was an explosion of runes and pages as a giant electrical surged fired off in all directions, paralyzing countless vampires. Lyger took this opportunity to spin Castle and charge through the masses, smashing vampires to bits with his great axe.

An eruption came from Miina, the flames shooting in all directions, burning many of the vampires to death.

Seeing this Club cursed as Tukero joined him “We’re going in!” The Heart yelled.

Club shook his head “Those people are unstoppable!”

“So they killed dozens of lessers in the blink of an eye, we’re not lessers! Let’s show them what we’re made of! Come on!”

Tukero let out a screech and shot into the battle, more lessers screeching and following him. Club cursed before falling in line.

Ike spun his blades “Incoming! Second wave!”

Lyger roared “Bring them on! And the third wave! And the fourth! We’ll wipe them all out!”

Yuuten nodded “Wyre!”

Spinning the Bishop unleashed Brave Bolt, taking out several of the lead vampires as the horde drew closer.

* * *

_Order of Rein Laboratory_

Soren peered around another corner, no vampires. They were clearly all out doing something. He noted that on his way up the cage for the lessers was open and they were all gone.

But did they all already leave the building? How could this wing be so clear? Entering another research room he found several bodies of people and vampires, ripped open with countless organs pulled out and jarred.

Soren approached them until he spotted a couple of children, quickly turning away he shook his head.

Exiting the room, he could hardly believe a man would allow himself to do this for such selfish reasons. Ulyus could say whatever he wanted but Soren knew that he was just an old man who didn’t want to die.

Entering another room there was a large window, he could see vampires outside engaged in battle with the Greil Mercenaries and the Five Pieces. Soren’s eyes widened “They made it!”

“They did!”

Turning the sage barely dodged a strike for his head, jumping away he faced Kanahana. “What do you want?”

“Me? I thought I made it clear.”

Soren pulled out his blade “You did…you said I had no value to you.”

“Exactky…you have no value so what do we do with trash? We throw it away.”

“Ulyus won’t-“

“He is far too wrapped up in the attack and trying to find you and…whatever else is on his mind. I was able to walk right into his precious personal laboratory and treat myself.”

Soren’s eyes widened “The Ultimatum. What did you-“

“Take?”

Screeching the vampire shot at Soren, slamming him against a wall before gripping his clothes and dragging him across a table, knocking aside all the glassware before throwing the sage across the floor.

“I took all of it!”

Standing, slightly dazed, Soren could see Kanahana headed right for him. Diving aside the vampire tore through the wall. Screeching he charged back, this time Soren stopped the oncoming claw with his blade.

The other ripped across his torso, tearing some of the bandages off. The sage cursed, remembering the wound still wasn’t completely healed.

Jumping away he wished nothing more than to have a tome on hand. Fighting the manic vampire with nothing but a blade was not a good idea but he had to make it work.

“Scared Sage?”

“Never.”

Kanahana shot at him again, Soren swinging his blade, barely cutting through the vampire as a hand grabbed his throat and slammed him against the floor, cracks forming across it.

Swinging his arm back, the vampire threw Soren across the room. The sage struck the wall hard before falling over. Kanahana laughed as he approached the fallen man “Any more fight left in you?”

Standing up Soren swung his blade, Kanahana easily sidestepping it before moving in and ripping his claw through Soren’s left arm. Clenching his teeth, Soren ignored the pain and swung again, cutting across Kanahana’s chest as the vampire’s other claw came in. Open palm struck Soren’s chest and threw him against a wall, knocking the wind out of him.

Jumping, Kanahana kicked Soren through the wall and across the hall outside. Scrambling to his feet, Soren made sure to grip his blade tightly as he brought it up. Kanahana tore right through the wall and laughed at Soren “Come on! Entertain me! Make me work for this!”

Soren dashed in again, ducking under a claw, before rotating out of the way of the second, blade cutting through Kanahana’s side as the vampire jumped into the air, kicking off the ceiling he tackled Soren to the floor. Standing the vampire wound its leg back and kicked Soren across the floor and through a railing. The sage fell into the main hall where the vampires were meeting just a while ago.

Diamond emerged from the underground to see Soren “There you are!”

Kanahana landed “I have this. There is a mess going on outside. Go help them!”

“Ulyus said-“

“Don’t obey everything Ulyus says! The facility is under attack, I can handle one mage!”

Soren stood up as Diamond tackled Kanahana. The mage did not want to run through their battle, instead turning to the main exit where he spotted Nekyu.

“Well, hello.”

Soren aimed his blade at her, ignoring his aching muscles.

“Ulyus. I found him.”

_“Good. Bring him to me.”_

As Nekyu started to walk forward, Diamond was thrown across the room. Kanahana grabbed Soren from behind and shot up through the ceiling.

“Hey! Ulyus, Kanahana has him!”

_“What! That…”_

* * *

Ulyus’ eyes widened. “No.” Ignoring Nekyu’s questions about what to do next he flew back to his lab and tore the door open. Everything was destroyed and all his vials were empty with glass all over the floor. The Ace let out a screech that shattered the remaining glass in the room.

_“The Mercenaries are drawing closer.”_

Ulyus spat “Let them come…I’m through with subtlety.”

* * *

Tearing through the top floor, Kanahana spun around and threw Soren onto the roof of the laboratory.

“So sage…scared now?”

Soren spat and gripped his blade “I’m not scared of a sad monster like you.”

“You should be! Because this sad monster is going to rip your heart out and eat it.”

Soren jumped back as Kanahana charged him, claw swinging wide. The sage deflected the second claw with his blade before jumping away again, he had no safe methods of approaching the vampire and said vampire was far too eager to keep close.

Swinging his blade again, Kanahana stopped it with one claw, raking his other claw across Soren’s chest. The mage clenched his teeth and groaned in pain as the vampire swung around and kicked Soren in the side of the head, throwing him to the floor.

“Well well Soren…looks like-“

_“Kanahana!”_

Gripping his head the vampire cursed “Not now Ulyus! Never again!”

_“Say goodbye to your mind!”_

Kanahana laughed, no longer holding his head he shrugged “Doesn’t work anymore.”

_“What?”_

“Your Ultimatum made me stronger than you…better luck next time…well, with the Mercenaries here, there won’t be a next time.”

_“You son of a-“_

Forcing the thoughts out, Ulyus fell silent. Laughing Kanahana walked over to Soren as the sage stood up slowly and faced him “You die here.”

* * *

_Laboratory Exterior_

Nekyu and Diamond shot out into the field with the rest of the lessers behind them.

Mia saw this and cursed, there were far more of them than she imagined. Leah ran over to her, killing a vampire right behind her “You alright?”

“Yeah, sorry I was just.”

Shaking her head she turned around, Zihark rolled over, swinging his blade “We have a lot more to handle.”

“I know. Let’s keep moving.”

Leah and Zihark nodded, shooting off as Mia looked at the building before noticing something odd. Two people on the roof.

“Is that-“

Before she could finish her thought one struck the other off the building. Despite having no idea what was going on her body screamed _“Soren!”_

Moving forward she swore she never ran that fast before in her life, barely catching the sage though the pair fell to the ground as a result.

Soren groaned before looking over, their eyes meeting “Mia!”

“Soren!” She could feel her emotions boiling over but before she could say anything else, Kanahana landed “Damn it…looks like I’ll have to do this the dirty way.”

Soren stood up, helping Mia up who noticed all his wounds before facing Kanahana “Last time we fought, I cut one of your arms off.”

“And I was impressed but I am far stronger now. You won’t get the best of me this time.”

“I will.” She faced Soren and smiled, he smiled back as she faced Kanahana “Because we’re together.”

Kanahana just laughed and shot forward as Mia flashed into three and Soren took a step forward, stopping the vampire’s claws allowing Mia to attack him from behind, cutting through his back and one of his wings.

Jumping he kicked Soren’s blade away before flipping around and swiping at Mia who quickly dodged his claw “Soren!”

Nodding he charged back in, stabbing Kanahana in the back. The vampire glared at the mage as Mia stabbed him from the front. “Come here!” Grabbing her face he threw her aside before flipping around and punching Soren in the face, breaking his nose and throwing him to the ground.

Tearing the blades out he tossed them aside. As Mia sat up and spat she looked at Kanahana “Why are you trying to kill him?”

The vampire laughed “Because that’s all there is for me in this life. Killing.”

He shot at Mia as she rolled aside. Laughing again he pursued her and raked his claws across her face, before flipping around and kicking her in the chest.

Picking up both blades Soren charged in, Kanahana easily avoided his strikes. Soren threw the Wo Dao to Mia who grabbed it out of the air as the sage swung at Kanahana again. Jumping back once the vampire noted Mia charging in and shot into the air, out of reach.

Mia looked to Soren who was breathing hard “Sorry, I don’t have any of your tomes…I wasn’t thinking and-“

He shook his head “Its fine. We’ll make this work. We are together after all.”

She nodded at that “We are. Are you sure you can keep going though?”

“I have to. Everyone else?”

“Busy with the hoard.” She commented, the pair spun their blades as Kanahana crossed his arms “You two done?”

“We will be when you’re dead.” They yelled in unison.

“Then kill me!” Kanahana screeched before shooting down at them. Claws being stopped by both blades, nodding to each other Soren and Mia kicked Kanahana away before moving forward together and slashing at him, one blade cutting through the vampire, the other barely missing as he hopped to the side.

Moving forward again he kicked Mia into Soren, throwing the pair to the ground.

Holding her blade up she stopped one of his claws though the other sunk into her torso. She let out a scream of pain as Kanahana ripped his claw out and sunk it in again.

“Stop!” Soren yelled, holding his hand out, black flames shot out, barely catching Kanahana’s right wing, burning a massive hole in it as he jumped away.

Mia stood up slowly and coughed up blood as Soren struggled to stand “You alright?”

As he helped her up she nodded “I will be.”

Soren felt a small ache, shaking it off he stepped forward and swung his blade at the approaching Kanahana, cutting through the vampire’s arm as it flew past him. Hitting the ground Kanahana shot back at Soren’s back, Mia blocking the attack allowing Soren to turn around and try to cut through the creature again.

Kanahana disengaged and rolled aside, Mia following him with her blade, tearing into his left wing.

Licking the blood off his claws, Kanahana laughed “I’m enjoying this…”

Soren focused on his hand “I need a clear shot on him.”

“For your fire? You don’t have a tome do you?”

Soren shook his head, he noted Mia’s expression as she looked back at Kanahana. The vampire split into three and charged them. Mia’s eyes widened “You can’t-“

She felt a powerful blow to her stomach, blood coming from her mouth as she flew across the clearing. Soren turned in the direction she went just as Kanahana sunk his claws into the sage’s back. Swinging his blade behind him, Soren missed the vampire who then flashed back into his face and slammed his elbow into the Soren’s chest.

Taking a few steps back, Soren coughed and swung his blade again, as Kanahana flashed around him. Soren braced himself and flipped around, striking Kanahana as he tried to come in for another blow.

Opening his hand another ball of flames shot out into Kanahana, burning along his clothes. The vampire screeched and flashed away, the flames dying as he approached Soren from behind again. Mia’s Wo Dao flew threw the air, jamming itself into Kanahana’s leg. Looking down at it, the vampire was left open for Soren to stab him in the chest.

Grabbing Soren’s throat he tore the Wo Dao out of his leg “I think she wanted me to give this to you.”

Kanahana stabbed the sage and threw him to the ground before ripping the other blade out of his chest and throwing it aside as well. Eyes landing on Mia.

She was looking at Soren who pulled the blade out as blood poured from his mouth “You two need to try harder. I’m barely feeling any of this!”

Kanahana flashed towards her, striking through a phantasm. Acting quickly he leapt aside as Mia swung at him from behind using Soren’s blade. Pursuing him she cut through his wing as he shot into the air. The vampire felt the strain in his wing and fell to the ground. Mia flashed at him, he looked up as the five charged him, taking four powerful slashes to his torso before the last sword sunk into him. Gagging the vampire ripped it out and spat blood, falling to one knee “You…bitch…”

“Soren! Soren!”

He gagged as she helped him sit up “I’m-“

“Don’t even think about saying that you’re fine!”

He chuckled a bit “Sorry…”

Grabbing her Wo Dao she helped him up, he groaned “I’ll distract him. You-“

“I’m not leaving you with him alone Mia. We do this together.”

“But-“

“Mia!” At Soren’s yell she swung around stopping one of Kanahana’s claws while the other tore across her leg. Soren quickly fired more of his flames at Kanahana who dodged them though they melted part of his right wing off. Shooting back in, Mia swung at him, cutting across his hand as she felt another rip across her same leg.

Soren noted her bloodied leg _“He’s slowing her down.”_

Mia started favoring her other as Kanahana shot in again, Soren pushed past her and held both hands out firing two flames at the vampire. Grinding to a halt the vampire jumped aside as the flames burned into his left wing, melting the entire thing away.

Kanahana noted his one wing and sighed, grabbing it he tore it off. “I don’t need to fly to kill the two of you…”

Soren held his hands out, creating orbs of black flame. Mia ran past him swinging her blade, Kanahana jumped aside into a black orb that struck his arm. Screeching he jumped out of the way of the second only for Mia’s blade to find him.

Moving forward, his hooked his arm around Mia’s neck and threw her to the ground. Soren fired off more of his black flames, one burning across Kanahana’s leg as he moved away.

Soren kept firing to keep him away as Mia stood up slowly. The sage tried to conjure up another only to feel a sharp pain shoot throughout his body. Falling to his knees he coughed up blood.

Kanahana took that chance to charge Mia, dodging her blade he struck her in the chest with his palm, throwing her to the ground. Bringing his claw up he tore into her arm, she screamed as he ripped it out, she lost grip on her blade.

She tried and failed to keep her breathing even as he stood up “You won’t be swinging that blade at me again.”

She looked at her bloodstained arm, she couldn’t feel it. Trying to ignore the horror building inside she grabbed her blade with her other hand she swung it out, cutting through Kanahana’s leg. He laughed at that “Of course. Of course.”

Before he could move in again another orb of black flames crashed into his side, he felt his skin burn away and jumped aside as Soren approached him, unleashing more black flames towards the vampire who dodged them.

“Soren…Soren…is my arm…is it-“

“You still have it. It’s still there. You’re alright.”

Mia could feel the tears on her face as well as immense relief “Thank the goddess…thank the goddess…”

He kneeled down next to her, the wound was severe, Kanaha tore through her muscles and nerves, no doubt she couldn’t feel the arm. Knowing her she was beyond terrified thinking she lost it.

He looked at his hands, Stefan’s warning coming back to him.

“Soren! Don’t ignore me!” Kanahana stated.

The mage noted that Kanahana was not charging in, he was well aware of the black flames.

Lowering one hand to Mia’s wound he found her eyes “This is…what hurt you so bad back in Thyremog…right?”

He nodded “Then don’t…Soren…please.”

Not saying a word his hand gave off a glow “Soren.”

Kanahana laughed only for Soren to fire another orb of flames from his other hand, forcing the vampire back.

“I’d do anything for you Mia, no matter what it does to me. You have to know that.”

Standing Soren helped her up, gripping her blade with her repaired arm she couldn’t help but fight off the immense relief.

Kanahana flew in again, meeting Mia’s blade with the same fury “This time I’ll rip your arm out of its socket!”

“You had one chance and you missed it!” Mia yelled back.

Feeling the pain rage in his body Soren fell back to the ground, turning his head and throwing up all over the ground.

Mia kept fighting, blade flashing, keeping Kanahana’s claws away and occasionally ripping into the vampire. For all his wounds he wasn’t being slowed, Mia on the other hand could feel one of her legs falling number from the deep cuts.

Knocking her blade aside the vampire raked his claws down her back, tearing through it. Yelling she flipped back around and cut across his face, her blade ripping one of his eyeballs out.

Screeching the vampire jumped away, hand flying to his face.

Soren rolled over on the ground to see Kanahana as he screeched again and launched himself at Mia.

_“Focus Soren…land one good shot on him…one good one…to stun him enough for Mia to finish this.”_

He tried to gather the power together, but the pain was immense _“One more. Just one more.”_

Mia stabbed the vampire in the side as he reached over and sunk a claw into her back. She kicked him away, causing him to forcefully tear his claw out of her as he stumbled away.

She felt the burning pain all over her body but kept going, charging in again as he swung his claw, spinning away the claw nearly missed her. Yelling she brought her blade down far too quickly for Kanahana to react and cut his right hand off.

Screeching he stepped forward and sunk his left claw into her left shoulder. She yelled as the claw was ripped out, he struck her with his palm, throwing her into the exterior wall. Charging her he kneed her in the stomach, before grabbing her by the throat and tossing her to the ground near Soren.

He tried to ask if she was alright, but could barely even whisper as she stood up again “You just don’t know how to quit! What is wrong with you?”

Mia aimed her blade at Kanahana again “I have to take Ulyus’ head off for what he did…I won’t settle for you Kanahana.”

“So I can’t kill you?”

“You won’t.”

“Really?”

Laughing he held his arms out and charged her “Even with only one hand! I will rip your heart out!”

Mia ducked under his claw, the vampire turned again, the blade sinking into him again. Kanahana spat “This is…nothing…”

“Is it?”

 _“Now!”_ Soren held his hand out, forming another orb of flames, shooting it towards Kanahana’s exposed back.

“But this might burn a little.” Kanahana muttered flipping over Mia, she turned to face him, Soren yelled her name as his flames struck her back.

Mia’s eyes widened, she’d never felt such flames before, such a powerful burning sensation. She screamed as she felt them burn into her back and fell to her knees, unable to stop the tears, it hurt far more than anything she’d ever been hit by before.

With all his might Soren tried to force the flames to die away. Kanahana just laughed at Mia as she fell to the ground, her screams fading away as the shock of the burns practically knocked her out. Lying on the ground she still felt the intense pain and couldn’t form any words as tears spilled from her eyes.

Kanahana chuckled “Son of a bitch Soren. I don’t know what she did to you but did she deserve this?”

Soren couldn’t even respond, a large portion of the skin on her back had been melted clear away, exposing what was beneath it. He felt sick, slowly shaking his head.

Kanahana kneeled down “She’s in shock…if this remains untreated she’ll die. Y’know. I want to rip her heart out right now but I think we should just sit here and wait for her to die eh? The look of horror and loss on your face…will be my ultimate joy. It’ll make living my life as this…mean so much more.”

The vampire kept his eyes on Soren’s face and chuckled “That is exactly the face.”

_“What did you do!?”_

_“I didn’t-“_

_“You killed her!”_

_“I wasn’t…I was trying to-“_

_“Look at her! Look at what you did! You monster!”_

Soren shook his head “Mia…”

“She can’t hear you…she’s dying. Or maybe she can…that’d be better.”

“Kanahana…please just…do what you want to me but let her go.”

“Oh I can’t do that. This is far too enjoyable for me to just…let it go. What could make this better…ah!”

The vampire pointed at his teeth “You see…we have some Ultimatum in our teeth so when we bite our prey we inject them with it, as such there is a chance that they will turn into vampires. Though given her state it will probably just incur more pain and kill her faster…which is fantastic!”

Soren forced himself onto his knees “Wait! Don’t-“

Kanahana picked Mia up turning her so she was facing Soren “Look at her.”

Soren found her eyes, looking so lost and distant. Her eyes then looked directly at him.

“Mia I-“

Kanahana smiled, showing his razor sharp teeth “So…shall I?”

_“Do something! Save her!”_

“What can I…what can I do…”

“Nothing!” The vampire screeched.

Soren closed his eyes. There was nothing he could do. Nothing.

_“It is possible that the powers can come together the do something…not wholly unique but maybe something…better.”_

Feeling the energy swirl within him, the sage noted how…different it felt.

_“Well maybe you just need to find someone to care for, care about and see what it’s like.”_

_“….there are people I care about.”_

_“Friends?”_

_“…”_

_“That’s a good start…but the best is to have something like Sothe and I. Love.”_

“Love.”

Soren focused on it and opened his eyes, meeting Kanahana’s one. Roaring he held his hands out, from each of his fingers, powerful torrents of flames shot out. The ten streams fused into one powerful wave the crashed against Mia and Kanahana.

The vampire screeched louder than ever as he dropped the woman and started running away. He kept screaming about the pain and pleading for it to stop as one of his arms melted clean off followed by his legs, he fell to the ground covered in the flames letting out more bloodcurdling and bone chilling screams that eventually faded away as the flames ate into his skull and body, leaving nothing but burning ashes.

Looking away from the flames Soren found Mia, laying on the ground unscathed aside from the ugly mark along her back.

Walking felt like he was carrying a building on his back. Falling to his knees near her he whispered “Mia? Mia…please…”

Acting on instinct he let out a small breath, black embers fell along Mia’s back. He was barely awake, losing vision. “Mia…”

Closing his eyes he barely made out her saying his name.

* * *

Uhnie landed with another dead vampire hitting the ground before her, Gatrie covering her rear again as Shinon’s arrows found another mark.

“Let’s-“

Before she could continue her scar burned.

“Gatrie. Shinon, take care of this.” With that she took off, Shinon called after her “Wait! Where-“

Club flew by him, barely missing as the marksman jumped away and cursed.

Uhnie dashed by the Bishop calling his name.

“What?”

“Follow me!”

* * *

Mia blinked several times to clear her vision before starting to stand, her wounds still ached as did her back but she felt noticeably better. She recalled that burning and shivered, gripping herself protectively.

_“It…hurt…so fucking much…”_

Turning she noted a mass of scorched earth a few feet away, looking the other way she found Soren collapsed near her.

“Soren? Soren!”

Shaking him, she received no response, flipping him around she lowered her head to his chest. She couldn’t make anything out.

This was just like in Thyremog after they defeated Barbyos.

No. This was worse.

Desperately she began pressing her hands against his chest “No, no, no. I almost lost you before, this won’t happen again. Soren!”

She noted that his body was not giving any kind of response “Soren! Please!”

“Soren! You here!?”

“Uhnie!? Over here!”

Mia didn’t turn away as Uhnie and Wyre joined them, the latter noting the area and Mia’s wounds “What in the world happened here?”

“Who cares!?” Uhnie yelled as Mia faced Wyre “Help him, please.”

Nodding he kneeled down near the archsage and pulled his staff out. Closing his eyes as the end began to glow. “There is a pretty serious wound in his stomach…was that from Ulyus?”

Mia nodded “Yes but that’s not what caused this, its inside him!”

“Internal damage? I can’t treat that hear, he needs to be taken to a facility I-“

The three turned to face the Order of Rein Laboratory.

“Can he be moved?” Uhnie asked.

Wyre closed his eyes and focused on the staff again “Yes but we have to be quick about it, I don’t know when we’ll lose him.”

Wyre put his staff away as Uhnie helped him pick Soren up. “Mia you should find Mist and-“

“No. I’m not leaving him.”

The Shade nodded “Of course not.”

As the three headed towards the facility Uhnie looked at Soren “You’ll be fine Shorty…”

Mia also looked to Soren, her emotions raging inside. She wanted to scream and cry but she couldn’t bring herself either. Closing her eyes she just thought _“You’ll make it…you have to.”_


	30. Unattainable Goal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Order of Rein's finale: The Mercenaries and the Five Pieces VS The Ace, Spade, Diamond, Heart, Club and...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 13,846 Words! This was a heavy task to write and heavier to edit but I loved every second of it!

**Chapter 29 - Unattainable Goal**

_Laboratory Exterior_

“Club! Diamond! Tukero! We do this now!” Nekyu yelled as she shot back into the fray, the other three right on her.

Ranulf rolled aside as Nekyu and Tukero shot past him “The commanders are here!”

Lyger covered the beast tribe Laguz, slamming his weapon against Diamond, throwing the vampire to the ground before being tackled by Club.

“They’ve come out, let’s force Ulyus’ hand next! Take them out!” Ike yelled.

Nekyu landed near Gatrie, shooting out and kicking the shield from his hands. Swinging his Greatlance she dodged it gracefully, twisting in the air causing Shinon and Rolf’s arrows to miss.

“Hey focus on me!” Shinon turned as Tukero struck him in the face, Rolf brought up his bow only for the Heart to kick him to the ground.

Before he could continue his assault, red beams from Mist’s Florete cut through the area around him. Turning to the woman he smirked “You?”

Boyd’s axe struck the vampire from behind, tossing him away from the archers as they stood up “And her husband!”

Rushing forward the Reaver swung his axe around, clipping Tukero just as the vampire stood up, throwing him away again.

Gatrie was pushed back by several consecutive strikes from Nekyu “That fortress you call armor won’t protect you from me!”

“It’s protected me well so far!”

Jabbing his lance forward again she leapt onto it “Not now!”

A spear jammed itself into Nekyu and pulled her away, throwing her across the ground “Klein Kruse!” She spat, standing up again.

Spinning his spear he smirked “Spade.”

Charging her she avoided a strike before hitting him with her palm, pushing him back a few feet, spinning the Knight slashed her and kicked her away. “Don’t forget I was one of you.”

Laughing she snapped her fingers, the Vampire Sharks landed around Klein and began attacking “These guys don’t remember you but that doesn’t affect their desire to kill. Good luck!”

She shot away prompting Klein to swing his weapon quickly striking a Shark in the chest before grabbing his chain and throwing it back, catching another Shark’s weapon he ripped it away.

Oscar rushed in, stabbing the Shark from behind, spinning the chain around Klein swung it at his blade locked opponent, striking their head with enough force to snap it to the side. Spinning he gored the Shark and threw the body away.

Oscar moved away, bouncing one Shark blade aside though the force caused him to reel back far more than intended. Another Shark charged him, slashing across his arm. Gritting his teeth he began evading the strikes, stabbing his weapon at his opponent during any opening.

Klein rolled away from the Sharks, noting Nekyu in the sky. Running towards her the Sharks pursued.

Club charged Lyger getting thrown aside easily by the Rook’s force and landing near Titania. Standing quickly it took a blow to the chest, as the woman spun around she tried to strike Club’s legs. Jumping away it was met by Ike who slashed into it with both of his blades. The injured commander landed near Diamond, bumping into him.

“Watch it!” Diamond hissed as Miina stepped forward, swinging her arms a torrent of flames struck the two vampires and floored them.

Flipping around Tukero shot into Boyd, dragging the man across the ground before getting kicked off. Catching itself in midair it shot back into the Reaver, this time blocked by the axe.

Shinon found his mark this time, a few arrows striking the Heart in his side. Screeching the vampire pushed Boyd’s weapon away “There are so many bugs!”

“Calling us bugs only makes it more embarrassing for you when we defeat you!” Shinon yelled firing off another arrow which Tukero avoided by shooting into the air.

“Ranulf!” The cat turned to Lyger who raised Castle, charging at him, the Rook swung his weapon. Ranulf hopped on the flat of the weapon and was thrown into the air, rolling into a ball he slammed into Tukero’s back. Screeching the vampire fell back to the ground where Titania approached it, swinging her great axe. The weapon sunk into the dirt as the Heart rolled aside, Ike meeting him with his blades, feeling them cut through the vampire screeched and jumped away again.

Club and Diamond nodded to each other and flew into the fray, Yuuten leaping up and swinging Checkmate, slicing through one of Club’s wings. The vampire turned around and approached the King, claws reaching for flesh, but barely cutting cape as the King moved away. “I killed one of you with little effort before.”

“I’ll eat your face!”

Yuuten smirked “Good come back.”

Klein fired off his spear again towards Nekyu, Diamond flew by, grabbing the weapon and shooting towards Klein, stabbing the Knight with his own spear. Clenching his teeth, Klein wound back his fist and slammed it into Diamond’s face. As the dazed vampire stumbled away, Klein tore the weapon out and tackled the foe to the ground.

Leah and Zihark met, each cutting down another vampire before noting each other with the Daein speaking “Have you seen Mia?”

Turning around Leah impaled a vampire, as it struggled against his weapon, Zihark moved in and slashed its head off. Leah flipped aside, avoiding another creature “No, I’m guessing you haven’t?”

Flashing, two Ziharks struck the vampire from each side allowing Leah to stab it from behind, through its heart. Hearing another screech Zihark leapt away as the vampire hit the ground “No. We were supposed to stick together. Where could she be!?”

Leah charged in, striking the vampire in the side. “She is the best of us right? She should be fine.”

Zihark finished it off, turning to notice a few Vampire Sharks approaching them “She will be…but I’m still worried.”

Yuuten rolled aside, Club landing near him and hissing.

Ike and Titania nodded to each other before charging Club who narrowly avoided a beam from Ragnell. Titania’s axe buried into his side, carrying him a few feet before the vampire tore himself off the weapon. Flying out of range of Alondite’s beam.

“You three won’t get me!”

Ike glanced over to Titania and nodded before noting Yuuten who smirked. Sticking Alondite in the ground, Ragnell began to glow “Hey Club!”

“What do you want gnat!?”

Ike swung his arm back and threw Ragnell into the air, the blade flashing as it sailed towards Club. Putting all the force he could in his legs, Ike jumped into the air, grabbing Ragnell as it reached Club “What are-“

“Aether!” Weapon flashing he slashed through Club once before bringing the blade around onto the vampire’s shoulder and crashing to the ground below with the creature.

Standing, Club noted its missing arm and screeched, claw shot out, scratching along Ike’s arm as Yuuten dashed in, stabbing the creature from behind. Titania leapt into the air and spun her axe around, Yuuten pulled his weapon out just as the Gold Knight buried her axe into the Club’s head, splitting it in two.

Tearing her weapon out she sighed “One down.”

Yuuten approached them noting the continued carnage all around “Aside from the commanders there are still a lot of these things.”

Ike nodded “We’ll get them all.” The three charged back into the fray.

* * *

_Order of Rein Laboratory_

Putting Soren onto a table, Wyre gave all the tools a once over, making a mental note of everything he saw as Mia neared him.

“You can help him…right?”

He turned to face her, seeing the concern and nodded “I can and I will. Speaking truthfully Miina is far more skilled than I…but I will do my best.”

“Thank y Wyre.”

As he started picking specific tools and moving them closer to Soren he chuckled “I should be thanking all of you for what you are doing for Hitenticul…the fact that you and Soren took so much pain for a land that isn’t yours…”

Uhnie put a hand on Mia’s shoulder “We should get you to Mist or Miina so they can heal you.”

Mia kept her eyes on Soren as Wyre spoke up “I would but I’m going to need every bit of magic in my staff to keep Soren active…sorry.”

“Don’t apologize…”

“Mia.” The woman looked at Uhnie. “We can trust Wyre with this. You have to watch out for yourself.”

Mia nodded “Right…of course…Wyre. Thank you.”

The Bishop nodded “He’ll be fine. I promise.”

After Mia and Uhnie left he looked to Soren and sighed “You heard that right? I swore to her, now I’m swearing to you. You aren’t dying here, Soren.”

* * *

_Laboratory Exterior_

Nekyu, Diamond and Tukero landed with Nekyu speaking “Club?”

“I think I saw his corpse on my way here.” Tukero stated, gripping one of his own wounds. “Where is Ulyus?”

Nekyu closed her eyes and focused as Diamond spat “He probably gave up on us. What else?”

The Spade raised an eyebrow “Are you sure?”

Diamond and Tukero looked at Nekyu as she opened her eyes. “He wants us to bring the battle into the Laboratory.”

“Then let’s do it.” Tukero stated, expanding his wings and taking off the other two following.

Leah and Zihark killed another pair of vampires before noting at least half the vampires moving into the facility “Ike!” The Daein called.

He nodded “I see it, we’ll split up here. We have to take down the Commanders and Ulyus to get to Soren!”

Leah and Zihark headed into the facility followed by Ike, Titania and the Five Pieces. Lyger raising an eyebrow “Where is Wyre?”

Miina shook her head “I have no clue, he was next to me one moment, gone the next.”

Entering the main hall, a wave of vampires immediately descended upon the group. Miina swung her arms out, flames keeping most of them at bay as Lyger and Titania rushed forward, both of their axes swung out, killing one vampire each as a few Sharks landed close to the group.

Klein spun his spear and charged behind them, stabbing a vampire and throwing it to the ground as several Sharks flew at him. Shooting out his spear he wound it around a Shark’s leg and swung the creature about, slamming it into the ground before blocking a blade with his spear.

“It doesn’t matter that you are a vampire now! You won’t stop me!” The Shark’s screech was cut off by Klein kicking it back, spinning his spear he slashed across the creature’s chest a few times before burying his weapon in it.

Pulling it out he turned to see Titania and Lyger strike down a few more vampires with their axes. Nodding to himself he rushed over to join them.

Leah and Zihark nodded to each other before approaching the Sharks, Leah locking blades with one as Zihark jumped over another. Landing he spun about and slashed the opponent across the back. The Shark looked at him and quickly brought its blade around, barely scratching the Daein as he moved aside.

“Be careful with these Leah!”

The man from Usvale took a boot to the chest and rolled across the floor. Standing up he barely dove away as the Shark sank his blade into the floor. “I will be!”

Swinging his blade out, the weapons clashed, Leah felt the blow reverberate through his arms before the Shark’s blade cut into him. Cursing he rolled beneath a strike and swung his blade wide, slashing his opponent’s torso.

Zihark flashed aside, the Shark cutting through a phantasm as a blade tore out of its chest. Turning around, the blade cut through the air, slashing across Zihark’s face as he leapt back. Spinning his blade he shot back in, clashing with the Shark several times before sweeping low to trip his opponent.

The Shark leapt into the air and spun around, kicking Zihark away and over to Leah as the man swung his blade, cutting into the Shark. Barely flinching the Shark stabbed Leah in the stomach.

Cursing the man used his pinned state to run his blade through the Shark’s throat before kicking the body away. Standing Zihark pulled the blade out of Leah “You alright?”

“Yeah, let’s keep going!”

The two charged the other Shark as two more landed near it.

Zihark cursed “This is gonna suck.

Ike swung his blades, beams cutting through several vampire wings as Diamond shot out of the horde, slamming Ike into the floor. Yuuten leapt over, his blade cleanly slicing one of Diamond’s wings off. The vampire screeched as Ike used Alondite to rip across Diamond’s chest.

Yuuten spun Checkmate “I killed your predecessor…present me with more of a challenge!”

Hissing the vampire launched at the King, before being blocked by Miina’s flames. Directing its attack towards the Queen, Titania rushed over, covering the older woman.

“Going for me at my age? How rude.”

Diamond spat “I’ll kill both of you!”

Titania smirked “I don’t think so.” She kicked the vampire away before spinning around, axe tearing through the creature’s torso. Flames exploded from behind Titania, moving around the Gold Knight before slamming into the Diamond.

Lyger moved to join as Tukero slammed into him. Getting to his feet Lyger spat, Klein charging past him and tackling Tukero.

The pair rolled across the ground, Klein spinning his spear and shooting it out, end burying into the Heart “Rook! Catch!”

The Knight pulled back on the chain, ripping Tukero towards him, seeing the vampire coming the Rook spun Castle and charged in, striking the vampire with the axe and burying it in the ground.

Nekyu landed near Ike “Hey there…”

“Why bring us in here. I figured you’d want us to stay out for as long as possible.”

“Orders from the Ace.”

Ike spun Ragnell and Alondite “Ulyus Rein? He took my friend…I hope he realizes how much of a mistake that was because it is going to cost all of you.”

Nekyu rolled her eyes “What can you do?”

An explosion went off behind the Spade, as she turned, Ike moved in, Ragnell ripping through her. Screeching the Spade leapt into the air and kicked Ike, his head snapping back as she tackled him to the ground.

Another explosion went off, wiping out more vampires. Uhnie leapt through the clearing, followed by Mia, swinging her Wo Dao she cut a vampire’s arm off. The pair landed, soon joined by a few Sharks. Mia glared at them, flashing green, five of her shot out, one Shark stopped the first blade as the second tore through his chest. Falling back the third slashed through its head, the top half falling off. The fourth and fifth sunk their blades into another Shark’s chest.

Uhnie flipped into the air out of range, dropping another Fire Bomb at the foot of a pair of Sharks, incinerating them. Landing she spun around, throwing more knives into the horde of lessers.

A Shark landed in front of Mia and swung its blade. Feeling the cut along her chest she stumbled back as another launched at her, stabbing her in the side. Clenching her teeth she noted the first one as it prepared to run her through.

Positioning her blade she knocked the attempted stab away and ran her blade into the second Shark’s skull. As the body fell limp she tore the blade out of her side and charged the first Shark. Blades bouncing away from each other, her rage giving her the strength to counter the Shark’s force.

“I came here to kill you all!” Ducking under a strike she stabbed her sword through the Shark’s chin and out the back of its head “And I’m going to do just that!”

Uhnie landed near her, having taken one of the Shark’s swords she used it to stop another attack “Mia you are taking far more blows than you usually do.”

“I don’t care. I’m going to keep going. They all have to die!”

“Mia!” The Shade turned just as Mia shot back into the horde. Cursing Uhnie leapt away from her opponent dropping another Fire Bomb to cover her escape.

Diamond leapt out of the range of the oncoming flames, Titania appeared before him, her great axe slamming into his arm, breaking bones. Screeching the vampire used its other hand to claw at Titania, ripping through her chest plate. Using the opposite end of her weapon she struck Diamond in the face as another torrent of flames crashed against the vampire.

Swinging around she rammed her axe into Diamond’s chest. Gagging the vampire screeched “You will all die!”

With all her might, Titania heaved the vampire over her, flying off the weapon and into the air the vampire continued screeching. The air around Miina burned as a concentrated ball of flame formed over her “Flame Stream!” A beam like torrent shot out, directing it she moved it through Diamond, searing the vampire in two before directing it towards the horde, the extremely hot flames cut over a dozen more vampires in half.

Noting Ike engaged with Nekyu, Titania rushed over as Lyger leapt away from Tukero, the vampire standing up slowly and coughing blood. The Heart noted Klein behind him as the Rook called out “Is this all you commanders have!?”

“Once Ulyus arrives you will see just what we are capable of and the Order will win.”

Klein smirked “Is that so? Ulyus has never been one to step on the field of battle.”

Lyger laughed “Every time we’ve come close he has stayed out of sight, he abandoned his own headquarters. Why take orders from a coward?”

“Coward!? Ulyus is no such thing…”

“Then why have we never seen him?” Lyger yelled.

Tukero screeched and charged “Because you are unworthy!”

The Heart missed Lyger as the Rook dove out of the way. Klein charged in from behind, the vampire flipping into the air, avoiding the Knight’s spear.

“Hey!” Yuuten leapt after the creature swinging Checkmate, cutting across Tukero’s arm he landed. “The King too? Are you all incapable of fighting fairly?”

Yuuten aimed Checkmate at Tukero as Klein and Lyger spun their weapons the Knight speaking “This was never to be a fair fight. We came here to kill all of you and we are going to do that.”

Tukero hissed dashing towards the King. Knight took a protective stance and swung his spear, Tukero dove aside, slamming into Lyger, throwing the man to the ground before flipping around and attempting to kick Yuuten in the back.

The King leapt away, giving Klein the space to shoot his weapon into Tukero again. Ripping it out quickly, Tukero launched at Klein, kicking the man in the chest, denting his armor.

Yuuten landed behind him swinging Checkmate just as one of Tukero’s claws found him, ripping through his chest plate. Feeling the King’s blade cut through him the Heart stumbled away “You-“

Smirking Yuuten moved aside to reveal Lyger charging towards the vampire “I am the Rook!” Slamming full force into Tukero, he felt several bones snap before the vampire was thrown across the floor.

Ike continued to hold Alondite and Ragnell at shifting angles as Nekyu’s claws relentlessly tried to reach him. Jumping away she whistled, several Sharks charged Ike, he deflected a few more before a blade cut into his arm. Dropping Alondite he flipped over his assailants, slashing one down the back as he landed before jumping away as two more Shark blades tried to reach him.

Laughing, Nekyu charged at his exposed back only for a large axe to sail across the clearing and into Nekyu’s side throwing her to the floor.

“Titania!”

Coming to a stop next to him she smiled “Partner.”

Tearing the axe out Nekyu stood and hissed, barreling into the Gold Knight.

As the pair fell to the floor the Sharks attacked Ike again.

Zihark leapt over Leah, slashing through a vampire before looking to the horde above them “Got quite a few more. Still got fight left in ya Leah?”

The man spun around and killed another, nodding “I’ll keep fighting until we get Soren back. They won’t stop me.”

Zihark laughed “Good to hear!” More vampires approached the pair, Zihark flashed green, “Come at me!”

The five shot forward, making short work of five vampires as Leah slashed a claw away from him. A Shark landed nearby and slashed at him. The Islander rolled aside, standing as another vampire kicked him in the chest. Hitting a wall, Leah spat as the two vampires and the Shark charged him.

“I’m not running anymore!” A vampire claw ripped through the air where he was, dropping from above, Leah slashed the vampire’s head open. Jumping out of the range of the second claw, he kicked off a wall and brought his knee into another vampire’s head. The Shark lunged at him as he rolled across the ground.

Standing he stopped the Shark blade before getting kicked away by the Vampire Shark. As the creature continued to swing its blade at him, he dodged every other strike, taking a few cuts to his upper body.

Gripping Cerulean tighter, Leah spotted an opening and stabbed the vampire in the chest. As it screeched at him he ran the sword further through and slammed the vampire against a wall, pinning it there.

The other vampire screeched and charged him, acting quickly he tore the Shark’s weapon away and swung around killing the attacker before turning back “This is yours.” Stabbing the Shark in the head with its own weapon.

Pulling his blade out the body fell as another Shark landed near him. This one wore a robe just like the others but didn’t have its blade out instead it charged him barehanded. Leah barely dodged the first fist though the second struck him full force in the stomach. Gagging Leah fell over as the Shark kicked him across the floor.

“Leah!” Zihark dashed over, swinging his Killing Edge. The Shark dodged the attack and struck Zihark in the chest with his palm. Unlike the other palm strikes this one didn’t blast Zihark off instead he felt immense pain in his chest, like bones breaking. Dropping his sword, Zihark fell to the ground.

Leah stood up slowly “Zihark!”

The Shark faced Leah and gestured for him to come closer.

Mia slammed against a wall, spitting blood as four vampires approached her, one screaming “Blood!”

Wiping her face she tightened her grip on her Wo Dao “You’re boss damned you all…I won’t rest. I won’t stop. Nothing you do will keep me from cutting his head off!”

The four fell on her as Uhnie neared “Mia!” A vampire struck the Shade, throwing her to the floor, flipping to her feet she ducked under a claw, using her Shark blade she cut the vampire’s arm off. It flew away and was replaced by two more, each trying to claw at her, one actually ripping into his torso.

Cursing she leapt away and threw a black ball at the ground, it exploded into a heavy smoke screen. The vampires hissed and charged into the smoke anyway, one lost its head while the other was stabbed through the mouth. Emerging from the smoke, Uhnie spotted Mia, bloodied but alive with the four vampires dead at her feet.

“How did-“

Mia turned as another vampire approached. Rushing forward Uhnie kicked the vampire away “Mia! You can’t keep going like this!”

“I have to!”

“No! What you have to do is stay alive! What will I tell Shorty if you kill yourself out here!?”

She looked away as Uhnie continued “Do you truly believe he is going to die? He’s tough, you have to know this!”

More vampires landed near them “Mia!”

She nodded “I know…”

“We are going to kill them all Mia, but we have to watch ourselves as well! Please…”

Mia’s eyes found the Shade’s “You have a lot waiting for you after this is over Mia. Don’t throw it away.”

The woman let out a heavy sigh, feeling her body’s exhaustion “Your right…I was just-“

“I know. You’re angry. That’s fine but don’t unleash it now, not while you’re injured.”

“Right. Right. Let’s go.”

Nodding, Uhnie threw another smoke bomb at the ground. Quickly she grabbed Mia’s arm and ran off towards the main entrance where the rest of the group was fighting Tukero and Nekyu.

* * *

Wyre wiped his face, he had to open Soren to the best of his abilities with what he had and what he saw was…disturbing.

It was almost as if Soren swallowed a blade, his insides were badly torn up. He felt some doubt before recalling his promise _“I have to save him…I have to.”_

As Wyre continued working he heard someone sniffing the air and spun around quickly.

“So he came back…his escape attempt didn’t go too well it seems.”

Wyre tilted his head “Who are you?”

The vampire walked into the room “Though, last I checked Kanahana had him and was going to kill him. All things considered having him get Kanahana off my back brings me great joy.”

Wyre was suddenly struck by a sense of familiarity as the vampire held its arms open “I am Ulyus Rein…and that is my prey. Step aside Bishop.”

Wyre shook his head “You can’t be…”

Ulyus chuckled “Can’t be?”

The creature before him looked too familiar. But that was impossible. The person he resembled was an aged old man this thing looked far too young but almost like a perfect appearance of what that man would look like, if he was young.

Ulyus looked at Soren “He has seen better days…I must thank you for beginning the procedure Wyre Reh. I will take over from here…you may leave.”

“I’m not going anywhere. You won’t have Soren.”

Ulyus shook his head “Wyre Reh. Do you know why I want him?”

At the Bishop’s silence the Ace continued “Because he can grant me…us…all of humanity the ability to live forever. Immortality.”

“That’s impossible.”

“I thought so too for a long time…I thought so hard I had to leave the Five Pieces to truly make any headway…but once I did…I figured it all out. I’m this close Wyre Reh and you won’t be stopping me.”

After a painfully long silence, Wyre whispered “Tallnit?”

“Do you know what is in here, Wyre Reh?”

The current Bishop watched as the former tapped the side of his head before speaking “Everything. I know where Centra was born…who her parents were. How she created Firestorm. I knew of the man who wanted her heart…of the woman who ended up taking it…of the ancient civil war that broke out due to the selfishness of the man. Centra had to unite the people of this land twice…a fact lost for so long. Have you ever heard of those stories?”

Wyre shook his head as Ulyus continued “I know so much more. What would happen if I were to die? If any well versed scholar was to go? We’d lose decades of information, research, history.”

“That’s why they write it down Tallnit. We can’t be expected to learn everything so we pass it on. The studies of the best researchers _are_ immortal. Everything you studied before you disappeared will remain long after you are gone…as is usual, it will be the same for me. For Yuuten. For Lyger. For Miina. Death is a part of life Tallnit…you of all people should be able to understand that.”

As Wyre fell silent, Ulyus nodded “Yes but…what if it doesn’t have to be. I have the best interests of everyone at heart. The core of all of this…”

The vampire gestured to the room around them “…is for humanity.”

Wyre shook his head “You can’t expect anyone to accept that their brothers, sisters, parents and children had to die for humanity. You should have found another way!”

“There was no other way Wyre Reh. I did what had to be done and the world is conspiring against me to stop me. You have to understand Wyre Reh…you have to help me.”

The Bishop shook his head “I admired you Tallnit. Your devotion to your studies and all the things you could learn…but you’ve changed. You’ve brought terror to your home. I won’t be a part of that.”

The vampire shook his head, chuckling before flashing across the room and grabbing Wyre’s throat, lifting him up “I see…well, Wyre Reh I tried…I tried to be the intelligent man. I tried to be the better man. I tried to be the one who wanted to keep his humanity. I tried to be the one striving to better all of us as people. I tried to be Tallnit…but no one could see the splendor of my research. The possibilities. They threw it away…even he, the one whose blood could bring humanity to its next stage…not even he understood. Do you, Wyre Reh?”

“I…now understand that…you lost…what made you human…you are just…BATSHIT INSANE!”

Throwing the Bishop across the room Ulyus laughed “I am the Ace of the Order of Rein. I am Ulyus Rein and I will have immortality!”

Standing Wyre fired off Brave Bolt, the four orbs striking Ulyus, pushing him back a bit, screeching he shot at Wyre, slamming the man against a wall. Winding his fist back he punched Wyre in the face and broke his nose. Leaping he kicked Wyre through the wall, across the hall and into another wall.

Approaching him he rammed his fists into the Bishop’s gut “Just die Wyre Reh. You don’t want immortality so settle on inferior life.”

Punching the man across the face he was floored. Spitting blood he turned to face him “Tallnit…what happened to you?”

“Tallnit is dead.” The vampire said entering the room as Wyre struggled to stand.

* * *

“Miina!”

The Queen fried another Shark before turning to see Uhnie and Mia approaching “You two! What-“

Seeing the state Mia was in the Queen quickly pulled out her staff, Chess. Holding it over Mia she closed her eyes “What happened?”

“Long story, Soren is in critical condition we left Wyre upstairs to take care of him.”

As Mia flashed, her wounds began closing, Miina eyed Uhnie “How critical?”

“Surgery critical.” Mia stated as the glow stopped, she stood up feeling stronger than ever.

“You should have gotten me.”

Uhnie nodded “Wyre alluded to as much, I was in a rush and he was closer…if I had known how serious-“

A vampire flew in only to get incinerated by Miina.

“-his injuries were I definitely would have brought all our healers to him.”

She sighed “Take me to him, I’ll see what I can do.”

Mia examined herself “I feel…perfect…how did-“

Miina chuckled “Chess can fully revitalize anyone and give them quite the power boost.” Gesturing to the vampires around, Miina winked “Give em hell and leave Soren to me.”

Mia smiled and nodded “Thank you Miina.”

Uhnie gestured for Miina to follow only for Zihark to land near them, followed by Leah, both severely injured.

The three looked up to see the unarmed Shark.

Mia narrowed her eyes “I got this, you two go.”

Taking a few steps forward Miina handed Mia a few elixirs before following Uhnie. Kneeling down next to her friends she put the drinks near them “Get up you two.”

Zihark chuckled “I was just resting.”

Leah groaned, giving a very strained “So was I.”

Mia charged at the Shark, moving quickly her blade cut through him before she dove aside from his fists, coming back up the blade cut across his arm before stabbing into his leg. Spinning out of the way she slashed him across the back, the Shark groaned as she leapt away. Clearly he was frustrated.

Zihark downed his elixir and stood, still a little worn out as the drink started to take effect “Leah, come on!”

Mia leapt away from the oncoming fist again, the man then tried to kick her but she easily slid out of range. _“Chess did me quite the favor and it seems Uhnie was right, it’s far easier when I take care of myself…I’m glad Soren didn’t see my like that…”_

Blade flashing she cut through the Shark again and leapt at him for the killing blow. “Fuck this.” He said, pulling out a blade concealed in his cloak to stop Mia’s Wo Dao.

Even dazed, Leah recognized the blade “Vermillion!? Nihil!?”

Leaping away from Mia the man spat “This place is not for us Leah.”

Mia charged him as he launched into the air and threw a knife towards Leah, the weapon embedding in the ground near him.

Mia and Zihark charged for Nihil as he whistled, several Vampire Sharks stopped them, allowing him to disappear.

Leah looked over to the knife, seeing a note attached to it, taking it he pocketed it before grabbing the elixir, drinking it and standing. “Now is not the time to lay around. Mia! Zihark! Here I come!”

Slamming his foot into Tukero’s chest, Lyger pushed the vampire away enough for Yuuten to jump and slash through one of his legs “I seem to recall that Ike mentioned a commander run away from the battle outside your headquarters.”

Tukero spat as he charged in only to redirect as Castle slammed into the ground “Those were orders!”

Klein fired his spear into Tukero, pulling on the chain the vampire crashed into the ground. The Knight smirked “Maybe the retreat was an order but according to Ike you spent nearly the entire fight avoiding combat. As I see you now…I’m not impressed at all.”

Tukero screeched, dashing at Klein who leapt away. Hitting the ground Klein shot past Tukero the vampire screeching as it turned to pursue the Knight.

Klein shot straight up, Tukero’s eyes widened as he slammed into Lyger, the man used one arm to hold the vampire in place while gripping its head with his other hand “Can you see me?”

Before the Heart could ask anything, Lyger jammed his fingers into the vampire’s eyes. Screeching it leapt away, Yuuten who was position behind him stabbed him as Lyger swung Castle into the creature’s waist, the body fell to the floor with a deep tear in his side, the vampire could no longer feel its legs. Screeching the Heart tried to crawl away, Yuuten shook his head “Sad.”

Klein landed near the body, spinning his spear he buried it into the back of Tukero’s skull, splitting it open.

Nekyu raked her claws across Titania before kicking the unarmed Gold Knight away. Standing she spat “That all you got?”

Hissing the vampire charged at her again as the other woman dove out of the way, landing near something and smirking.

More Sharks continued to keep Ike occupied “Titania! You alright?” Slashing through one with Ragnell another cut into his arm.

The woman stood “I’m fine. You?”

“Handling this!” Ike called back, leaping away from a Shark’s attack.

Nekyu launched back at Titania who raised Alondite and blocked the vampire’s claws.

“A sword?” she hissed.

“I prefer axes but I learned on the side.” Kicking Nekyu away she charged forward, spinning she brought the radiant silver blade close and cut into Nekyu before sliding beneath a claw, springing up she made a wide vertical slash across the vampire.

Stumbling back Nekyu hissed again “You are the inferior species!”

“And however you all came to be was clearly a mistake!”

Nekyu launched at Titania again, the Mercenary using Alondite’s width to keep the claws away as Ike ripped through another vampire “Titania! Is that-“

Leaping away she landed near Ike “You don’t mind if I borrow it?”

“Not at all.”

Nekyu screeched and flew at the pair again.

* * *

“He should be-“

Uhnie and Miina came to a stop seeing Wyre slumped up against a wall, Miina ran to his side to heal him, Uhnie went into the room to see a vampire working on Soren “You!”

He turned “I have to keep him alive. I still need him for my experiments.”

Uhnie pulled out her Shark blade “Step away from Shorty.”

“Heh…I don’t think so…do you even know who I am?”

“A corpse.”

The vampire chuckled “Very funny…though I must say I do enjoy the peculiarities in your blood. However it isn’t natural so you would be useless to me.”

Uhnie charged at him, the vampire leaping out of range. She threw several knives at him which he knocked away, catching the last one he threw it back. Uhnie was about to move aside before realizing what was behind her.

The knife buried into her chest as a result. The vampire laughed “Mind where you are.”

She pulled the knife out and threw it aside before charging the vampire. He leapt out of a destroyed wall and into the hall. Following him she swung her blade around, barely cutting the creature as it slinked away.

“Wyre, what on-“

Wyre gripped her hand as she healed him “Tall…nit…”

“Tallnit? What about him?”

Wyre gestured towards where Uhnie was fighting “Tallnit…”

Miina looked over “That’s impossible.”

Uhnie took another blow to the chest before being kicked away. Shaking her head she readied her blade as two streams of flames shot past her and struck the vampire, pushing him back. Miina stood in place next to Uhnie “Tallnit! What are you doing!?”

The vampire shook the flames off “Is that what Wyre Reh told you? Miina Nil.”

The Queen’s eyes widened, seeing his face, it was a much younger Tallnit standing before her. “What…why?”

“I am no longer Tallnit. The name means nothing to me anymore…I thought I could be this and him at the same time but that was clearly false. I am Ulyus Rein, this is my Order and you are all intruding.”

Uhnie shook her head “I don’t give a fuck who you are, you stay away from Shorty!”

Ulyus laughed and dashed forward, this time an arcthunder beam shot into him and threw him clear across the hall and into a wall. Taking the opening, Miina shot another torrent of flames into Ulyus, pushing him through the broken wall and out of the building into the night.

Turning the Wyre the Bishop gestured to the room where Soren was.

Miina approached the mage, Ulyus was indeed treating him “I can finish this quickly. You two keep watch for him.”

Uhnie and Wyre nodded with the former speaking “He was the Bishop before Wyre?”

The two Pieces nodded with Miina speaking “But what could have…done this…the things the Order has done…he was responsible for them all.”

Wyre shook his head “It doesn’t matter. He wants to be Ulyus? Then he dies as Ulyus.”

* * *

Nekyu hit a wall, her wings torn to bits and large cuts across her from Ragnell and Alondite. “This is all for Ulyus and the Order’s glory…you won’t stop us…”

Titania brought up Alondite “We’re here to wipe all of you out. What makes you think we won’t do it?”

The vampire laughed “Because Ulyus is ready for everything…”

Ike and Titania regarded each other before hearing a loud, low moan.

The fighting in the room ceased as everyone looked around, Ike asking “What the hell?”

* * *

_Laboratory Exterior_

Night had fallen and while the vampires were harder to see there were far less now. Shinon pulling a bolt from one of their skulls as Gatrie watched his back “We’re almost done here.”

“Of that I’m aware…here’s hopin Ike didn’t kill everything in there.”

“Come on Shinon we’ve been killing these things nonstop, I’d rather each group clear everything out at the same time.”

Before Shinon could retort the earth shook followed by a low, quaking moan.

The marksman looked to the laboratory “What the fuck?”

* * *

_Order of Rein Laboratory_

The floor at the center of the area splintered as Nekyu continued laughing. Ike and Titania turned around, the latter asking “What is going on?”

Yuuten and Lyger glanced at each other quickly, Klein recognizing the look in their eyes “You know what this is?”

Before the King or Rook could speak the floor exploded and a massive creature emerged, letting out a quaking roar. Raising its massive hand it tried to smash the Pieces who quickly dove aside.

The creature roared again, bringing its other arm out carrying a large steel pole.

“It’s a motherfucking Giant!” Lyger screamed as the being continued to roar, raising its steel pole and slamming it into the ground.

The being looked like a massive man with bulging muscles and glowing white eyes. The massive creature’s head nearly hit the entrance hall’s ceiling. It looked down directly at Klein, Lyger, Yuuten, Mia, Zihark and Leah while Ike and Titania stood behind it.

Several vampires flew around it causing the creature to swing its massive steel pole. As the weapon moved its back end destroyed the staircases that led to the upper walkways. The front end of it tore through the main entrance bringing the front of the building down on itself.

Swinging the pole back around it roared, the weapon tearing through the building relentlessly as well as killing any vampires in its way.

“How do we kill that!?” Ike yelled.

“Just hit it with everything we’ve got!” Klein yelled back as he leapt into the air and shot his spear out, the weapon sunk into the creature whose eyes found Klein. Roaring it swung its fist, narrowly missing the Knight as he fell to the ground.

Mia, Leah and Zihark began slashing at its right leg with their blades, barely cutting into it. Roaring the creature raised its leg and slammed it into the ground, tearing up the floor and throwing the three warriors away.

Titania and Ike ran at it, swinging their blades, releasing energy beams against the back of its left leg. Turning to face them it brought its fist up and slammed it into the ground where they stood.

As they rolled aside Titania noted the hole in the massive hole the creature climbed out of “We can throw it back in! That might give us some breathing room!”

Ike looked to her “Good idea! We-Titania!”

The woman felt a claw enter her back, followed by another, coughing blood she turned to see Nekyu who spoke “Hello!”

The Spade threw Titania against a wall, Ike tried to run over there only for the Giant’s steel pole to slam into the ground before him, ripping it up and throwing him away.

Titania turned, stopping a claw with Alondite while the other slashed her torso “You get so easily distracted!”

Titania kicked the vampire away. Clutching her wound she glared at the Spade who laughed “You don’t know what it’s like to be devoted to such a glorious leader.”

Titania’s eyes found Ike as he evaded another strike from the Giant before looking back at Nekyu, “I know what it’s like to fight alongside an honest man. It’s what drives me to do my best.”

“Heh, and what do you gain from it? I will be given the ultimate power, you?”

Titania closed her eyes and let out a low breath before finding Nekyu again “What I want doesn’t matter…I fight with him because I believe in him. Despite what my heart really feels I know that this is my place so I do what I must.”

Nekyu laughed “That’s pathetic.”

“No! That’s being human!” The Gold Knight charged Nekyu, blade swinging and vampire evading, spinning back around the Spade attempted to kick Titania only for the woman to roll under the blow and jump back up, slashing across her opponent’s back. Spitting the vampire spun around and clawed at Titania’s arm, tearing through it.

Titania clenched her teeth and ignored the burning pain, moving in Alondite tore in the vampire’s leg as it jumped away.

On the destroyed walkway above them, Ulyus appeared, taking a deep breath of the carnage. “Greetings Foreigners. Pieces.”

Klein and Lyger rolled aside as the Giant’s fist slammed into the floor, leaving a deep create. Klein looked up “Ulyus Rein!”

Lyger smirked “So that’s him.”

As Leah and Zihark continued to hack away at the Giant’s leg, Mia looked over to Ulyus, she’d recognize him anywhere.

“I see you met my side project…just in case any bravos tried to stop my research I had this invincible Giant ready and waiting.”

Yuuten leapt away as the steel pole struck the earth “Giants were never invincible!”

“Maybe not but this one has been force fed every single version of Ultimatum, it is far more powerful than any of its ancient brethren and it will kill all of you.”

Klein leapt into the air towards Ulyus “I’m going to-“

The Giant grabbed him out of the air and slammed the Knight into the ground, roaring before swinging its arm out wide, striking, Lyger, Yuuten and Ike before kicking with its leg, sending Leah and Zihark into a wall.

Ulyus laughed as a blade tore out of his torso, turning his one eye found Mia “You!”

“This is for Soren!” Tearing the blade out she swung at him again, the vampire dodging her strike “You can’t kill me!”

“I can and I will!” She screamed back, swinging her blade again as he leapt away.

“Before I rip you to pieces I would like to thank you for killing Kanahana. Saved me the trouble.”

Mia ignored him and continued to slash her weapon towards him, evading the strikes Ulyus laughed, lunging forward to grip Mia’s arm, spin her around and slam her into a wall.

“Do you understand what you are trying to prevent by killing me?”

Mia slashed at him again, cutting his chest before moving in for a stab. The vampire leapt away “Do you!?”

“Yeah! I’m preventing families from losing members and lovers from losing those who mean so much to them! I’m granting Hitenticul a better future!”

Ulyus clenched his teeth “No! That is what I AM DOING!”

As Mia and Ulyus continue to fight above the Giant swung its weapon again, Ike barely ducking. _“Do your best Mia.”_

His eyes found Titania and Nekyu again, he knew Titania could handle the fight but he very badly wanted to be at her side.

“Lyger! We have to push this thing into the hole from whence it came!”

“Better than having it out here…but how?”

Klein shot into the air again, shooting his spear at the Giant’s face, impaling its cheek, roaring the creature tried to grab the Knight again, missing and instead ripping a hole in the already ruined ceiling.

Leah and Zihark neared Ike and Lyger “Magic is what stopped these things before!” Leah yelled.

Yuuten looked around “Soren was taken and Miina and Wyre are missing in action, we have no magic.”

“Then brute force it!” The group turned as Shinon ran in followed by Rolf the pair shot arrows into the Giant followed by Ranulf dashing at its leg and ripping into it with his teeth.

Mist, Boyd and Oscar followed soon after “It doesn’t matter how big this thing is! We’re going to kill it!” Boyd yelled.

Gatrie ran in last, heading straight for the Giant’s left leg where he sunk his greatlance into.

The creature roared before jumping, the entire second floor began to rumble pieces collapsing on the first as it landed, the ruined walkways collapsing to the ground and any of the Mercenaries nearby being thrown back by the force.

Mia rolled into a room, her walkway collapsing, Ulyus followed her with a smile.

Titania and Nekyu tried to keep their footing, the two looked up to see the overhead walkway falling on them. Nekyu flashed out of the way while Titania used Alondite to send a beam through the debris.

Once it was clear Nekyu slammed into her, smashing her against a wall the vampire hissed “Ulyus is here. Our Giant is out! What can you do!?”

“Kill you!” Titania yelled back kicking the vampire away and sending a beam at her. The Gold Knight swung again as the vampire flashed out of range.

Titania started breathing heavier, she was feeling the exhaustion and pain now but had to keep going, she knew she could trust the others to figure out how to handle the Giant and Ulyus, this was her fight.

Nekyu appeared, claw coming out, Titania stopped it promptly with Alondite before rotating around the vampire, avoiding the second claw and slashing at the creature’s exposed side.

Hissing Nekyu shot at Titania again, who braced herself, taking the blow and rolling across the ruined ground, getting to her feet she took a deep breath.

Nekyu smiled “I could go all night.”

“You won’t.”

* * *

 

The Giant swung its arm again, slamming into the earth, chunks of the ground shot up, throwing Oscar, Yuuten and Mist through the air, as the three landed the Giant swung its steel pole towards Ranulf and Klein, seeing it coming Klein covered Ranulf, taking the brunt of the blow, the pair were thrown through a wall into another room.

Ranulf shifted and stood up “Klein! What the-“

The man stood slowly, “How did you survive that!?”

He spat “I am a vampire…tougher than I look…”

“Still, we have to get you to Mist.”

“Right…right…”

Roaring the monster raised one of its legs and tried to step on Leah, Zihark and Shinon who all jumped out of the way just barely, Shinon rolling to his feet and firing more arrows into the massive beings chest.

Lyger and Boyd roared, rushing in they carved into the creature’s left leg with their axes “Hey you overgrown bitch! How’s this feel!” Lyger yelled, spinning around, cutting a deep swathe in the creature’s leg.

Roaring it tried to grab them with its hand only for arrows from Shinon and Rolf to pelt the exposed palm, seeing the archers it swung the pole at the as well, a bit of earth threw Shinon into the air, moving the pole back the creature struck Shinon and floored him.

“Geez, don’t do anything that crazy again!” Mist yelled. Klein just smirked and shot into the air.

“Sorry! No guarantees!” Mustering all the force he could he slammed into the Giant’s chest, barely budging the creature as it reached for him. Acting quickly he avoided its hand and fell to the floor, joining the rest of the group.

* * *

 

Mia dodged Ulyus claws again, kicking off a wall she leapt over the Ace, slashing him across the back, turning around quickly he reached for her, only to grab at a phantasm. Leaping away from her again he shook his head “I saw you do this to Kanahana back in Quadnis. Won’t work on me.”

Mia smirked “Oh yes it will.”

“You are a foolish woman. I can make you immortal. Think about that! You will be able to achieve everything you could ever wish!”

Mia shook her head “There are only two things I want from life.” She aimed her blade at him “To continue to hone my skills as a master of the blade…”

“And the other?”

“You don’t get to hear about the other…but I’ll take your head as a consolation.”

Dashing at him she split into five, the Wo Daos flashed all around him as the vampire quickly rotated, knocking the multiple blades away flawlessly while laughing, elbow striking Mia’s chest.

As she was knocked out of her attack he slammed his knee into her face, throwing her across the room.

“Is that it? Any other tricks?”

Spitting Mia stood “I’ll never stop…”

“You will have too once you die.”

“You aren’t going to kill me.”

Moving towards him again he laughed and began bouncing her blade away with his claws while, every so often he cut across her arm, chest or torso. She ignored the wounds and continued, she wanted him dead more than anything and she was going to do it.

“What makes you think one such as yourself could ever beat me?”

Claw narrowly missing her she stabbed the Ace in the stomach “You want immortality…why?”

“To get everything out of life!”

“People have been fulfilling all their life’s desires since the beginning…they never needed to live forever.”

Ulyus struck her chest with his palm, pushing her away before tearing the blade out and tossing it aside “How do you know someone didn’t die without seeing their dreams realized?”

“It’s not a matter of realizing everything…it’s about finding contentment in what they have done. The successes and failures of their lives. You never want your life to end because what? You need everything?”

“We. Need everything.”

Mia narrowed her eyes as he continued “Humanity will benefit from immortality.”

“We’ve gotten this far without it.”

“There is so much more we could discover with it. Why can’t you understand!?”

Mia crossed her arms “Then answer me this Ulyus. Have you figured it out yet? Immortality?”

“I’m close.”

“How do you know?”

“BECAUSE I KNOW! I AM CLOSE! I AM ALMOST THERE BUT YOU AND YOUR PATHETIC LOT OF FOREIGNERS ARE STOPPING MY PROGRESS FOR SELFISH SHORT-SIGHTED REASONS!”

Mia shook her head “You’re just going to keep killing and using innocents because you refuse to accept your own mortality…that’s all there is.”

The vampire couldn’t help but laugh “He said the same thing…”

Mia narrowed her eyes as he continued “The stupid sage you all want to take back. The one who will save humanity…that is his destiny and you are stopping him from achieving it.”

“Soren’s destiny is what he wants it to be…you don’t get to decide that.”

“Then stop me.”

He began walking towards her “No weapons aside from your sharp tongue. I’ll have to cut that out.”

A powerful gust slammed into Ulyus’ chest pushing him back. He turned as another pounded into him full force, before he could speak one last one crashed into him. The vampire tore through several walls, eventually rolling into a wrecked room that collapsed on top of him.

Mia turned as Soren approached. All the anger, frustration and sadness left as an immense feeling of relief and satisfaction flood over her. The tears followed as she ran over to him and embraced him.

He hugged her back “I’m so…so sorry Mia.”

“For what?” she sniffed as more tears fell.

“For what I did to you…the pain I caused, I never meant for that to happen. I’m sorry. Truly I am.”

She hugged him tighter “I’m just so glad you’re alive…I…I was so scared…more than ever before…”

He closed his eyes and held her just as tightly, breathing in her scent he whispered “We won’t be separated again, I swear.”

As they pulled apart, Soren smiled at her and wiped her eyes, she whispered a very quiet “Thank you.”

Soren gestured to the fallen Wo Dao, she picked it up and nodded to him as Wyre, Uhnie and Miina appeared, the Bishop and Queen ran past them with the Queen yelling “Is that a fucking Giant!? What has been happening!?”

Soren, Mia and Uhnie joined them with the sage speaking “A lot apparently. We can deal with Ulyus later. Right Mia?”

She faced him and nodded “We can…for now, that thing needs to be stopped.”

Uhnie smirked “Then let’s go!”

* * *

 

Nekyu could feel the pain in Ulyus thoughts “Ace!

Facing Titania she hissed “I have no more time to waste with you!”

“Look around, what is left? This building is coming down on us! The vampires are all dead except for you and your master, if you were to escape what would you do!?”

“Start over!” Nekyu screeched charging the Gold Knight who held the blade even and at her side. As Nekyu’s claws tore into Titania, Alondite ripped through the vampire’s chest.

Nekyu gagged, eyes widening. Titania tore the weapon out, the vampire stumbling a few feet away before falling over.

Titania let out a heavy breath and hit a nearby wall before sliding down it. She looked at Alondite. In that moment she realized what the sword in her hand really was. Shaking her head she let go of it and closed her eyes.

* * *

 

A few spears and countless bolts sticking out of the Giant’s body didn’t slow it a bit, roaring it raised the pole up and began jumping, the weapon tearing apart the second and third floors of the facility which began caving in on the large ruined area below.

Lyger cursed as he covered Yuuten with Castle “This place is going to come down unless-“

Soren, Mia, Miina, Wyre and Uhnie landed in front of the King and Rook, Ike’s eyes widened “Soren!”

“Ike. We’ll take care of this. Uhnie!”

Nodding the woman threw several Fire Bombs at the ground, they exploded causing the Giant to take a step back and roar at them.

“Miina! Wyre!”

“Right!” They yelled in unison holding their hands up as the pages of their tomes began to flip at a rapid pace. A stream of fire and electricity struck the giant’s chest, pushing it back, it roared as it raised its steel pole again, into the ruined floor above, the entire building groaned.

Ike yelled for everyone to escape. As they did so he came to a stop and looked over to see Titania, “Soren! Do what you have to!”

Running past them he headed for the Gold Knight.

Soren noted Mia who nodded.

Facing the giant he began focusing on his own tome, the Giant roaring as the magic kept pelting its chest. “Soren! Ready?” Wyre yelled.

The archsage smirked and swung his arm, a powerful tornado formed behind him and whipped around into a focused torrent.

“Titania…Titania!”

Ike put a hand on her face, “You there? Titania!”

She brought her hand up to cover his “I’m here…just really tired…”

Ike couldn’t help but chuckle “I can tell, come on we have to go.”

She nodded slowly as Ike helped her up, he picked up Alondite “You sure you’re alright?”

Leaning into him she whispered “I am now.”

Ike turned to see Ulyus“You aren’t going anywhere.”

Mia saw that “Ike! Titania!” She looked to Soren who just whispered “Be safe.”

As the Tornado held in place aimed at the Giant’s chest she charged over to the Ace, the roof above collapsing, debris crashing all around her.

Flashing green she split into five, the first three slamming into Ulyus, pushing him away. Ike took that chance to move by as quickly as he could with Titania.

The last two slashed through Ulyus, throwing him against a wall. Acting quickly she ran after Ike and Titania as Soren called out “Now!”

Wyre and Miina released their tomes which now floated in midair, a second stream of lightning and fire slammed against the Giant. Uhnie threw more Fire Bombs as Soren directed his tornado into the Giant. The combined force of all the magic pushed the Giant back, letting out a guttural roar the creature fell back into the hole it climbed out off. Groaning the building began falling apart. Acting quickly Soren fired Arcwind at his, Uhnie, Wyre and Miina’s feet carrying the group out of the facility as it collapsed.

* * *

_Centra Wildlands_

Standing outside the Mercenaries and Pieces watched the facility collapse to rubble, the following silence of the night was an indescribable pleasure.

All releasing heavy sighs they fell to the ground.

Soren couldn’t help but smile, the Order was done.

Looking over he noted Ike holding Titania approaching, followed by Mia.

Titania smiled at Soren “Glad to see you’re alright.”

Soren took out a staff, “You don’t look so well.”

“Thanks.” She let out as Ike helped her sit down.

Soren sighed as he began healing her “Thank you…all of you…”

Ike crossed his arms “Don’t mention it.”

As Soren put his staff away he helped Titania up before looking to the other Mercenaries “I mean it. Thank you.”

He watched as they all smiled, Mist responding with “What did you expect? You’re family Soren.”

“Yeah man…I mean come on, what else were we going to do?” Shinon added.

Soren turned again, looking past Ike and Titania to Mia. He didn’t care that all the Mercenaries were around he was-

Turning to the rubble he yelled “Get back!”

The building exploded as the Giant tore back out, screaming it swung its pole, slamming it into the earth, striking at least half the Mercenaries and throwing everyone else aside, its other arm came up holding a large stone pillar. Letting out another scream it slammed that into the earth as well before tearing itself completely out of the rubble.

Soren looked to Wyre and Miina “Is there any other way we can kill this damned thing before it murders us all!?”

Wyre shook his head “The history books all say that Centra used Firestorm to beat them…we don’t have it and even if we did none of us are that skilled!”

The creature began rushing at them, Soren cursed shooting at the ground, blasting the group away as the creature jumped and slammed into the earth. Screaming it swung the pole around again, everyone hit the ground to avoid it.

Mia rolled to her feet and looked over to Miina “We have to do something! What was Firestorm capable of!?”

“Supposedly the flames conjured by Firestorm were strong enough to burn anything and everything to death, they didn’t quit, putting them out was nigh impossible unless Centra commanded it.”

Mia’s eyes widened, she looked over to Soren who also heard and looked at her.

Ike pulled out Ragnell and Alondite “We’ll run interference…you can come up with something right Soren?”

He nodded “I will, go ahead but be very careful!”

Yuuten, Lyger and Klein charged forward, Ike turning to Titania “You hang back, alright.”

She smiled up at him “I kinda lost my axe…be safe Ike.”

He nodded “I will.”

Ike ran past Leah and Zihark, the former addressing the latter “We’re going too, right Zihark?”

“Better believe it, whatever we can do, we’ll do it!”

The pair charged in, Shinon and Uhnie backing them up, “Here Shinon.” She threw some Fire Bombs at him. He grinned “Thanks! Seriously Soren! Any plan will work!”

As a bomb went off near the Giant it swung in that direction, beams from Ike’s sacred blades slamming into its chest. Lyger and Klein attacked one leg while Leah and Zihark assaulted the other.

Wyre and Miina called on their magic and assailed the creature from afar as Mia neared Soren “Can you do it?”

“Maybe but…”

“They were barely able to save you last time…”

Soren nodded “But if I don’t do this what guarantee do we have that we can kill this thing?”

Mia shook her head “I don’t know…but we didn’t go through all this, find the Order and kill them all so you could get yourself killed Soren. I won’t let you.”

Soren sighed “I know…and given how big this thing is…”

Mia snapped her fingers “It must have a heart! If we focus on just that one spot specifically we can kill it, forget the rest of the body.

The sage looked at her “We could do that…its skin is really thick…and it moves a lot and erratically so we’d have to stop that.”

“Can you focus your flames so that they can maybe burn through its skin and into its body?”

“I don’t know but it’s the only chance we have. We just have to get this thing to drop its guard and hold it in place long enough for me to hit it.”

Soren smiled “Thanks Mia.”

“Don’t mention it. Let’s do this!”

Reaching into the earth the Giant tore a large mound of it and threw it at the Mercenaries, the group barely scattering as the mass crashed near them.

Klein flew at the creature sticking his spear in its face, the Giant tried to swat him away, missing as he shot back down to the ground. As he prepared to attack again he heard something and turned, out of the rubble emerged Ulyus, shaking his head he stood up and started to walk away.

“Ulyus Rein!”

Turning the Ace smirked “Klein Kruse.”

“If you think you’re getting out of here alive-“

“I have to! You and your allies destroyed all my work! I have to start over!”

Klein narrowed his eyes “And you think we’ll let you?”

“If it makes you feel any better Kruse, I will be leaving Hitenticul…I’m sure my research has hit its end as limited by this land. I’ll set up my New Order in Zatuo, Thyremog or better yet, Tellius. I’ll be as far from here as possible so you have nothing else to worry about.”

Klein laughed “And you think we’ll let you do _that_? Let you go start your murderous ‘research’ in other innocent lands? No. Your terror ends here. Tonight.”

Hissing Ulyus launched himself at Klein, first strike knocking the spear away, second hitting the Knight’s chest plate. Denting it and cracking it, Klein was pushed back. Looking up the Knight moved in, spinning his spear about, it shot out and cut along Ulyus arm as the Ace slid out of range.

Moving back in the vampire jumped and kicked Klein in the chest, throwing him to the ground.

Leaping at the fallen Knight, Ulyus tried to rip into him only for Klein to roll out of the way. Klein watched Ulyus’ one eye as the vampire screeched and shot at him again, tackling the other man to the ground and tearing through his armor.

Kicking Ulyus away, Klein rolled to his feet and spun around, spear slashing through the Ace “Everything I’ve done!”

The Knight jumped and kicked Ulyus in the face, landing he spun his spear around before throwing it, sticking into Ulyus. Pulling the Ace in close he slammed his fist against the vampire’s face.

“Everything was for this chance!”

Grabbing Klein’s arm, Ulyus swung him around and threw him at a tree, as the Knight crashed into it Ulyus shot into the air and descended on Klein, kicking him through the tree.

“It always starts and ends with revenge.”

Klein stood up and spat “Selfish I know…but you should know all about that.”

“Right…because this is all for me.”

Klein spun his spear around “As long as you finally realize that.”

* * *

A light rain began to fall around the group as the Giant let out another scream, gripping the steel pole it began swinging it around in a circle, dragging it across the ground it tore up the earth. Several of the Mercenaries leapt away while others were thrown aside by the weapon.

Shinon and Uhnie threw more Fire Bombs at it, causing it to glare and roar at them before jumping towards them, shattering the ground and throwing the pair through the air, acting quickly it grabbed Uhnie, she let out a cry.

Shinon landed and screamed her name before throwing more Fire Bombs “Hey you big son of a bitch! Let her go!”

Swinging its arm it threw the Shade at Shinon who leapt up to catch her, as they slammed together they crashed into the ground. Wyre and Miina shot several bolts and orbs of flames to try to distract it from the injured pair.

Turning it smashed its weapon into the earth near the pair.

As Ike attacked the creature from behind Soren and Mia approached Yuuten and Lyger with the latter asking “Have a plan there boy?”

“One hit.”

“What?”

“One concentrated hit from me should be enough to kill this thing.”

Yuuten raised an eyebrow “How?”

Soren pointed at the creature “We need to hold its attention in some way that leaves it open. It can’t move and it can’t know what I’m up to.”

Lyger crossed his arms “Easier said than done.”

“Are you sure one hit is all it’s going to take?” The King asked to which Soren nodded with Mia speaking “Trust him, Soren’s seen us through some crazy battles. This plan will work.”

The King and Rook nodded to each other “Alright…then let’s figured out how to get this thing to stop thrashing about.”

* * *

Klein’s rapidly spinning weapon prevented Ulyus from attacking, instead the creature tried to flash behind Klein only for the Knight to flash behind _him_ and strike him across the back.

As Ulyus stumbled away he laughed “I thought you hated the abilities I granted you.”

“I’ll do whatever I can to kill you.”

Ulyus shot off into the sky, Klein following him “Anything!”

“Alright then.”

Claws shot out, spear stopping as many of the incoming blows as possible though one cut across the Knight’s arm. Clenching his teeth he flashed away and shot his spear out at Ulyus. The monster laughed as he flashed towards Klein, kicking him, snapping his head back before flying a bit higher and coming back down, slamming his elbow into the Knight’s chest.

Crashing into the ground below the Knight spat before standing up. Flying back into the sky, Klein detached the chain and spun around, the deadly links slicing through the air at an insane speed, cutting across Ulyus as the vampire moved aside.

Yelling Klein flew closer, spinning again, chain nearing Ulyus. The vampire flashed away and charged Klein. Smirking the Knight turned in the opposite direction, the chain wrapping around Ulyus’ torso. Roaring, Klein shot at the ground, chain pulling Ulyus along with him.

As he hit the earth, the chain buried into it followed by Ulyus slamming into the ground. Leaping through the air, Klein spun his spear, landing near the Ace he impaled him.

Screeching the vampire gripped the weapon and forced it out, flipping around he kicked Klein away. Screeching even louder Ulyus flew at Klein, grabbing the Knight and smashing him through a tree, and then another, before spinning around and throwing him at the forest floor. Flying higher he came back down, leg smashing into the Knight’s chest, his armored plate breaking into countless pieces as the vampire’s leg proceeded to snap several bones in the Knight.

As Ulyus jumped away, Klein stood slowly coughing blood. Ulyus was breathing hard “You bastard…you won’t kill me…my destiny is too important…”

Klein chuckled as he wiped his face “No it isn’t…its sad really.”

“What?”

Spitting Klein looked at Ulyus “You are going to die not realizing how grand of a failure you’ve become…you can’t see past your own ego…your last moments will be shameful regret.”

“Allow me to humor you…do you really believe I’ll die…sad?”

Klein smiled “You’ll die begging.”

Ulyus laughed before launching at Klein, the Knight preparing himself.

* * *

Steel pole smashing into the earth, large debris slammed against Wyre, throwing him aside, the Bishop unfortunately struck a tree, wind getting knocked out of him he slumped down to the ground.

Miina on the other hand barely avoided the attack, standing Ike was quickly at her side, grabbing her and leaping away as the Giant’s hand slammed into the earth.

“Get some distance!”

She nodded “Be careful, this thing is far more dangerous than any I ever read of and those were already bad news.”

Ike swung his blades, beams crashing against the creature that just roared at him.

Soren approached Uhnie taking out his staff while tossing an elixir to Mia who kneeled near Shinon.

“You alright?”

“Yeah Shorty…just…”

Flinching she coughed “You have a lot of broken bones Uhnie…the correct answer is not I’m fine.”

She nodded “It isn’t…is Shinon okay?”

The archer stood up, thanking Mia “I’m fine Uhnie…that fucking thing is going to die.”

Mia nodded “It is…we have a plan.”

“Which is?” The archer asked.

As Soren and Uhnie stood the sage spoke “It keeps turning and thrashing because of all the attacks, we’re going to set its sights on one person.”

Shinon raised an eyebrow “Who?”

* * *

 

Yuuten kneeled on Castle as Lyger roared, spinning around he threw the weapon, sinking it into the Giant’s back. As the being turned to swing its weapon at Lyger, Yuuten leapt off the axe and landed on the Giant’s shoulder.

“Big man!” Spinning Checkmate he roared “I have something for you!” Sinking the blade into the creature’s eyes, he elicited a far louder scream than anything before. Shaking its head it continued screaming, hand flying up to its face as Yuuten jumped away.

Opening its one eye the creature noted Yuuten and roared at him, raising its Steel Pole, Yuuten dashed between the being’s legs, weapon crashing into the earth harmlessly.

“The King?”

“He volunteered.” Soren stated as he began walking towards the Giant, Mia at his side “Are you really sure about this Soren?”

He looked at her “It was your idea.”

“I wish I hadn’t suggested it…”

Putting a hand on her shoulder the sage smiled “I’ll be fine. This is just one strike.”

Mia nodded slowly as Soren prepared himself he noted that Uhnie was detailing Ike and Miina on the plan as the latter healed Wyre and listened in. Shinon approached the other Mercenaries and told them to hang back, most were too tired as it was but they still wanted to keep fighting.

_“I’ll do this…for them…my…family…”_

Soren smiled at the word as he felt the power growing inside him, taking a deep breath he focused.

* * *

Feeling another claw tear into him, Klein clenched his teeth swinging his spear and chain out, both narrowly catching Ulyus. The vampire screeched before leaping into the air, Klein followed him up.

The pair flashed around each other, Klein’s chain slicing through one of Ulyus wings and Ulyus’ claws ripping through the Knight’s legs.

Landing, Klein felt the pain and spun his chain one more time, as it lashed out, Ulyus smirked and gripped it, pulling Klein toward him he sunk his claw deep in the Knight’s chest.

“You. Are. Done.”

Releasing the chain Ulyus smirked “I am thoroughly impressed with how long you lasted though…not just against me but in general…how long has it been since you left the Order? Three months?”

Klein glared at Ulyus as the vampire impaled the Knight with his other claw “Well?”

Klein spat his blood all over Ulyus’ face, sighing the Ace pulled his claws from the Knight’s chest.

Klein stumbled back, coughing blood, looking to Ulyus who just shook his head “You refuse to bend to me even as you die eh? No matter…my Giant probably flattened your pathetic allies already so there is no one left who can stop me.”

Smirking the Knight shook his head “You will be stopped Ulyus…count on it.”

Flashing towards him, Klein buried his spear in Ulyus shoulder, the weapon went in so deep the end of it pierced out of the vampire’s side. Screeching the creature slashed Klein across the face, as the man fell, Ulyus stumbled away, the weapon fully piercing him.

Gagging he shook his head and walked away into the stormy night “This won’t end here…it can’t…”

* * *

“Ready!” Soren yelled, a lance of black flames forming in his hand, he was using all his focus to keep it together. Mia looked at it in awe, so many questions but now was not the time for answers.

Yuuten avoided another strike, the Giant, roaring swung its pole at him. The King easily leapt over it. Soren could barely make out what was almost a smile as the Giant whipped the pole around again far too quickly, striking the King full on and skipping him across the ground like a rock, Yuuten struck a nearby cliff face.

Soren knew the King would not be standing up from such a blow.

The creature began moving towards the fallen Yuuten. Ike, Wyre and Miina began attacking the being from behind but it was completely ignoring their blows.

“Soren!”

He kept his eyes on the creature as it brought up its pole.

Yuuten looked up at the weapon, before hearing his name, turning he saw Lyger near him, jumping on top of the cliff he raised Castle above him as the pole struck him, he felt the powerful blow reverberate through his entire body and coughed blood “Soren! Now!”

The Giant screeched, struggling to push through Lyger’s guard but the man was determined to protect his brother.

Ike grabbed Yuuten and took off with the King calling for his brother as Soren took a step forward and launched the flaming spear through the air.

The Giant continued to screech as the pole sunk into the cliff and tore it apart, the spear hit its chest, searing through its body completely and shooting out the other side.

Cut off mid scream the Giant fell eerily silent. Letting go of its weapon it took a few steps before falling to its knees. Blood poured from the hole in its chest and from its mouth as it let loose a series of loud hacking coughs before slamming into the earth, still twitching.

After a few more moments, the one glowing eye faded and the Giant fell limp.

Soren released a heavy breath and sat down, feeling a pain in his own chest. “You okay?”

He looked to Mia and nodded “I’m fine…”

As Miina healed Yuuten, Ike walked over to the ruined cliff face and found Lyger buried in the earth with the giant’s weapon covering half his body.

“Is it…dead?”

Ike nodded “It’s done.”

Lyger smiled “That’s good…and Yuuten?”

“He’ll make it. Miina is-“

“Get back here Yuuten!”

The Queen came to halt upon seeing the state of the Rook, Yuuten kneeling next to him trying to think of something to say.

Lyger smirked “I castled you…funny eh?”

Yuuten shook his head “It’s not the time for jokes…”

“Brother…our land is safe…it’s time to smile…alright?”

Yuuten nodded as Lyger closed his eyes.

Soren sat watching the King embrace his brother’s body. He looked down and shook his head Mia putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Soren-“

“My plan was flawed.”

“Soren…you can’t save everyone…you just can’t…as hard as you try.”

He remained silent as she kneeled down next to him “You can’t blame yourself for every loss.”

“I sure feel like I can…”

Wyre, Leah and Zihark joined them, the Bishop speaking “Need help, Soren?”

Standing up the sage shook his head “No…I just wish I did more…”

Wyre opened his mouth to speak only for Zihark to approach Soren “Come on man. You can’t know everything...you can try but that’s just impossible.”

Soren eyed Zihark “The Giant is dead. The Order is gone. We won.”

Mia turned to face the ruins of the facility “Wait! What about Ulyus? Where did he go?”

The five looked around quickly, Soren felt something pulling him towards the woods…a low voice. Heading in that direction the other four followed him.

Walking carefully through the trees the group kept their ears open for any possible vampires that were still left before hearing a low groan.

Approaching it the five found a severely injured Klein.

Wyre was at his side with his staff out “What the hell happened to you?”

Klein pushed the staff away “Ulyus-“

“Let me heal you!”

Klein pushed the staff away again and shook his head “Ulyus slinked off into the forest.” He gestured.

Soren kneeled in front of him “We’ll find him. Let Wyre heal you.”

Klein chuckled “It won’t matter.”

“Yes it will! Stop sounding like you’ve given up!”

“I haven’t…I’m just at the end of my rope.”

Leah raised an eyebrow “What do you mean?”

“Vampires have to drink the blood of others to live…I haven’t taken any blood since I left the Order…I said my skin was just as grey as theirs…a month later it was lighter and a month after that I was mostly pale…my body was giving out. These last few weeks, especially these last few days have been so trying…I’ve done everything to keep myself together but that’s all over now…I said I wanted to see this species eradicated…that includes me.”

Mia shook her head “But Klein…you’re one of us.”

“Remember what I said about my partner? He couldn’t fight off the desire to drink blood so he decided to just leave and hide wherever he could…away from people…what I could never do…was sleep…I haven’t slept since I left the Order…all that I can see when I close my eyes is that child…I pretty much lost my appetite as well…all I wanted was blood but I fought it off…and before all this I killed the innocent crew from Thyremog in addition to whatever terrors I brought to the world or planned on bringing to the world after all this…the world will be better off without me.”

“That’s bullshit! You’ve changed!” Wyre yelled. “You’ve earned all our trust. You’re an ally, a friend.”

“And I appreciate that…it feels good to have allies…friends…but this life isn’t for me…not anymore…”

Klein brought a hand up and gestured for Soren to come closer before whispering.

“Tyse Erent. Pier 3. Zijo Oit. Norad…Jyuugo…”

Closing his eyes the man had a small smile of contentment on his face as he passed.

As Wyre, Leah and Zihark bowed their heads, Soren looked to Mia and nodded.

* * *

“Those fools…”

Continuing through the dark trees the old vampire spat.

“All of them…worthless…”

He’d have to create new lessers to get the spear out of him but before that he needed blood.

“Heogettr is close but there are too many guards…Quadnis is far but it’ll have to do…”

Feeling intense pain he growled “No…I’m holding together…I have to…my mind is too important…my research too valuable…”

He shook his head fiercely as he kept moving “I don’t care that I have to start over…I will…because I have to…I-“

Hearing something he turned. Holding still his eye scanned his surroundings before landing on the woman, Mia.

“Y-you!”

She narrowed her eyes, giving the vampire a cold glare.

He took a few steps back “You are making a mistake!”

She started walking towards him “Do you…do you know what I can give you!? Immeasurable power! The ability to live forever! I can grant you all this and more!”

Hitting a tree he looked back quickly before facing her again “Are you even listening!?”

“Yeah.”

“And?”

Grabbing the vampire by the throat roughly, he gagged “Please! Please! No! My brain! The knowledge I have! There is too much! Taking my life will be a loss to the world! Humanity needs me!”

Mia threw the old man to the ground “Humanity needs Tallnit’s mind! Humanity needs Ulyus Rein’s research! Please! You have to understand! This can’t end here!”

“Humanity does need you.”

Ulyus remained on the ground as Mia pulled out her blade, his eye kept darting between it and her, he tried to think of something to say to save himself when Mia added.

“Dead.”

“Wait! Wait, wait! WAIT!”

Her blade flashed, cutting off the desperate pleading.

As the old man’s head rolled away, Mia felt the relief and took satisfaction in the fact that everything was now truly over.


	31. Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> <3

**Chapter 30 - Hearts**

To say that what came next was easy…was just not true…

The Mercenaries and the Pieces were exhausted after a night of combat, they barely made it to the first inn they could find at Heogettr, passing out as soon as they landed on their beds.

The fight against the Order weighed on them but it was especially heavy do to the corpses of the Rook and Knight that they had to bring back to Unitt with them.

Waking in the morning, Ike talked with Yuuten about what he learned from Soren in regards to Ulyus Rein’s identity. Yuuten was shocked that his old comrade would fall so far and when questioned as to whether he will let the people know, he said he wasn’t sure. After that however the King swore that he was not angry with Ike or with Soren or with anyone in regards to Lyger’s death beyond the Order and Ulyus Rein. Lyger protected him because they were brothers, he knew what would happen and he acted.

Klein on the other hand fully intended to die after the Order was eliminated no matter what happened. Whether or not he would be tried in court or pardoned, the man was set to die and he did so relieved to know that his vengeance was over.

Both men died knowing that the land they fought for was safe and that was the greatest relief.

* * *

_Capital of Unitt_

“…and so we have lost the Rook. My brother. Lyger Heitnaro…and our Knight. Klein Kruse. But they fell in defense of our land. Of our peace from the terrors that have been ripping families apart…we no longer have to fear the night because the horror is over. The fear can fade. We are safe.”

The people gathered in the open marketplace before the King hugged one another and cheered, tears fell as many thanked the Rook and Knight for their sacrifice and for granting their families safety and rest.

Many wished Yuuten well and the King swore he’d only remember his brother fondly and thank him for aiding in the protection of their home.

Approaching Wyre, Miina and Ike the blue haired Hero spoke “I take it from the closing of your speech Tallnit’s role in this will not be made known.”

Yuuten shook his head “It is nothing they have to know…their last memories of Tallnit would be of a devoted researcher wanting the best for humanity. Wanting to teach the world of forgotten histories…not the creature that ripped their families apart and made them fear the night. Ulyus Rein will be the monster that history forgets but Tallnit will be remembered the way he was.”

Ike nodded as Miina looked to him “Are you alright with that?”

“I’m an outsider, all of my friends and family are…it is not our place to speak about what you do with your land…what you decide is most likely right.”

Wyre chuckled “Don’t sound like such an outsider Ike. You and your family helped save our land. We are deeply grateful.”

As the three Pieces bowed Ike, feeling flustered looked away, his eyes finding Titania as she approached “So Ike…what do we do now?”

The man crossed his arms “Well…with his last breath Klein gave Soren the names of his comrades. I say we look into that.”

Titania nodded “He also said Pier 3.”

Wyre spoke up “Most likely the pier that the ship left from with his partner, according to what Soren heard from Ulyus he is certain that Tyse Erent is the man we should be looking for…”

After a short silence the Bishop shook his head “Not that you absolutely should! I mean-“

Miina cut him off  “Pier 3 is one of the docks in Quadnis dedicated to trade with Zatuo.”

Ike looked to Yuuten “Any of you been to Zatuo?”

The King shook his head “We only started trade with them four months ago and the Order has been a problem since then…none of the Pieces could risk going while our land was in danger.”

Titania nodded “That makes sense…though not knowing how big Zatuo is and having to search for a man named Tyse Erent who we don’t know how he looks…it doesn’t sound easy.”

“Maybe not but Tyse Erent will hopefully be more approachable. Klein did say that he did not like what the Order did to him either.” Ike stated.

“So you are going to continue this?” Wyre asked.

Ike and Titania nodded, the former speaking “Whatever Klein Kruse and the other men were up to at least two of them are still set on accomplishing their task. Klein did say that should their mission be successful they’d wipe out countless people. We can’t just ignore that.”

The Bishop crossed his arms “This is true…hopefully Tyse Erent knows about the other two. Zijo Oit and Norad Jyuugo…”

The King spoke up “I would wish you all the best but I insist you stay on Hitenticul for a bit longer. You just finished a long battle and I’d love for you to see the land when you have no personal business.”

Ike was about to say something when Titania cut in “That sounds great. Right, Ike?”

Looking to her he nodded before facing the Pieces “I suppose. Any suggestions?”

Wyre, Miina and Yuuten smiled to each other.

* * *

_The Market Core, Heogettr_

“So what is this supposed to be?”

“Do you have to know everything?”

Shinon nodded “Yes Gatrie. If I’m going to stuff anything into my face I need to know what it is.”

Before Gatrie could speak Uhnie took the pastry from Shinon and took a bite out of it, she smiled “Woah…that’s good.”

“Hey, that was mine.”

Uhnie took another bite, before shrugging “Didn’t look like you were eating it.”

Gatrie laughed “Well, let’s move on-“

“Nope, buy me another.”

Gatrie shook his head “Buy one yourself, you have money.”

Shinon sighed “I know Ike was all noble and everything not taking money back in Thyremog but here is hoping that The Pieces fork over some cash.”

The archer took his own pastry, walking alongside Uhnie and Gatrie, the former dusting the bits of pastry from her hands before speaking “Well, since Thyremog and Hitenticul were trading, the money between the two is streamlined. Not sure if they have that down in Zatuo.”

Shinon shrugged “The guy took my gold just as well.”

“He’ll probably sell it for this region’s money. Honestly though we’ve all been doing well so far.”

As Shinon took a bite, he couldn’t fight off the smile, it was good.

Gatrie nodded to Uhnie “We took all we had from Tellius and we were provided with food and lodge in Thyremog by Lytros and the Pieces here so we haven’t really spent much money…aside from when I first came to Heogettr with Oscar, Boyd and Rolf…while you two were out killing Ion…”

“Jack.” Uhnie finished for him.

Gatrie nodded “Right…so, can I really tagalong for the next one?”

Uhnie shrugged “Volke might not like that I’m bringing two people who aren’t Shades into the Shade War but I think you two can handle yourselves…scratch that, I know you can.”

Gatrie smiled as Shinon dusted his own hands “You can’t wear your armor though.”

“Why not?”

“Really? Gatrie, the point of being a Shade is no one knowing who you are. It’s why Uhnie has a codename. If you fight Shades and walk around in your massive blue armor, everyone will know who you are.”

Gatrie nodded “I guess.”

Uhnie sighed “With any luck we’ll come across the coward.”

“There is a Shade who is a coward? How is he not dead?” Shinon asked.

“How do you think? He steals a lot of money so he pays for a lot of protection and steals from Shades, escaping in the confusion.”

“He stole something from you I take it?” Gatrie asked.

Uhnie looked down “Yeah…kind of embarrassing…ah well…I’ll find him eventually. Till then, I’m counting on you Dead Eye.”

Shinon smirked as she faced Gatrie “You too Blue Wall.”

“Of course…Blue Wall?” The Marshall looked down at himself “I like it.”

“Well he won’t be wearing the armor when-“

Uhnie nodded “I know…just dress in blue when the time comes.”

Gatrie gave her a thumbs up “Will do!”

* * *

Leah sat down rather excitedly, Zihark sitting next to him and Soren and Mia across from them.

“So…what is this again?” Soren asked.

Leah gestured to the cake before them, it was topped with blue frosting “This is an Azure Bond.”

“From Theem I’m guessing?” Mia asked.

Leah nodded “They became so popular because they are very, very tasty.”

Zihark went for the cake only for Leah to stop him “But! There is also a story to the cake.”

Soren nodded “Which is?”

“Whoever shares the cake together, two people to as many as you want are to be friends. Forever.”

Leah smiled at Soren and Mia who looked to each other then back to him as the man from Usvale faced Zihark who chuckled.

“I see…Leah, we’re already friends.”

“I know…I just want to make it Azure Bond official.”

Mia laughed “Alright then. We’d love to share the cake with you Leah.”

“You better believe it!” Zihark added.

Soren nodded as well. Leah cut the cake in four pieces and set one in front of everyone “I feel so honored to have you three as friends.”

Mia and Zihark gave the man big smiles while Soren nodded and said “As honored as we are I’m sure.”

Leah’s eyes widened “Really?”

A smile came to Soren’s face “Really.”

The four took their first bites in unison, Zihark almost jumping off his seat “Shit that is awesome!”

Mia brought a hand to her mouth, preventing laughter and nodding as Soren grinned “It is.”

A big smile came to Leah’s face “They say it’s as good as it is because it represents pure friendships…whether or not that is true I know this is great cake, and you are all great friends.”

“Hey all.”

The four turned to see Wyre approaching.

“Hey Wyre…how are you?”

He smiled at Mia “I’m fine.”

“You sure?”

The Bishop nodded to Zihark as the Daein moved over allowing him to sit.

Wyre smiled at the cake “Azure Bond…y’know…I always did plan to share one with Klein.”

He looked up to the group “I was just worried he’d think it ridiculous.”

Wyre cleared his throat “A cake to signify our friendship? We’re friends Wyre, we don’t need something like that!”

The group chuckled as Wyre shook his head “I always imagined him saying that…but I still wanted to do it.”

“Wyre-“

The Bishop cut off Soren “No need to apologize. He was a good man…that’s what I’ll remember. I can still go home to my beautiful Shae because of the many times he saved us during our initial expeditions and the two of us can now sleep in peace thanks to his sacrifice. I’ll always remember that.”

Soren cut a piece of his cake off and held it towards Wyre. He looked at it then back to Soren.

“Wyre. Through our times here we’ve seen you as an ally…but I think its time to see you as a friend. If you’re alright with that.”

The Bishop smiled and took the piece from Soren, his eyes moved to Mia, Leah and Zihark who all nodded. The five took another bite with the Bishop speaking “Thank you. All of you.”

Zihark sighed “Leah. Wyre. I’m gonna miss you two when we leave.”

Wyre nodded “And I’ll miss all of you as well…I’d go along but we do have to reorganize the Pawns, there is no immediate threat to answer to, not to mention we are just Three Pieces now.”

“This land will be stronger.” Leah stated “Of that you can all be sure.”

Mia nodded to the man “Indeed…so…Leah, wanna spar?”

The man looked down at his empty plate then to Mia’s “Well…we just ate…”

“Is that an excuse?”

“Uh oh.” Zihark muttered as Leah laughed nervously.

Soren just chuckled “Maybe give him a few minutes Mia.”

She laughed lightly “I didn’t mean right now. That was a joke.”

Leah sighed as Wyre started laughing.

* * *

Ike, Titania, Yuuten and Miina sat at a table, a rather expensive lunch before them “Are you sure-“

Yuuten cut off Ike “It’s a thank you Ike. It is not trouble and a poor excuse for showing gratitude for what you and your people have done.”

“Don’t think of it that way Yuuten. It’s more of a good meal with friends.”

Miina nodded to Titania “She’s right.”

Yuuten smirked “Indeed.”

As the group ate Miina gestured to Titania “I do believe you lost your weapon in the collapse of that laboratory, yes?”

The Gold Knight nodded “Yes. I should be able to find another soon enough.”

Miina looked to Yuuten who nodded before continuing “We have no problem with smithing down Castle to be a more appropriate size for you.”

Titania’s eyes widened, she shook her head “No! No! I couldn’t-“

“You are an impressive master of the axe Titania, I’m sure my brother would be happy with the weapon in your hands. You can do it justice.”

Titania looked to Ike who nodded “I think it’s a good idea. But if you aren’t comfortable with it…”

The woman looked back to Yuuten and Miina before smiling “If it truly is no trouble then…yes…I’ll take Castle.”

The Pieces smiled with Miina speaking up “The smithing will take a few days so you’re stuck here. Gotcha!”

The Pieces started laughing, soon joined by Ike and Titania.

* * *

Sitting in a rather large, clean park in Heogettr, Soren’s group was glad to see so many happy children playing around. It felt like their actions really, truly meant something.

The group was mostly silent, Leah reached into his jacket and took out the note. All that was on it was a location.

_Groopin Beach_

The man put it away, he knew exactly what it meant, he looked over to Zihark and Wyre, chatting then to Mia and Soren who sat next to each other in silence.

_“I asked them for enough help…”_

Standing he cleared his throat “I have somewhere to be…I may be a while.”

As he turned to leave Mia spoke up “Going to see Nihil?”

Leah came to a halt, he could make out all four of them standing and turning to face him with Wyre speaking “You owe that man nothing…if you know where he is tell me and I’ll send the Pawns to arrest him. The Sharks Row is gone, the Sharks are all dead…he has nothing.”

Leah cleared his throat “I can’t.”

“Are you sure?” Soren stated.

Leah shook his head as Zihark spoke “You asked us for advice the whole way…why not now?”

“I have to do something for myself…”

“Leah. We have the Azure Bond friendship guarantee…we’re friends forever. Friends help friends.” He turned to face Mia who now wore a smile.

“Should I do this?” he whispered.

Soren spoke up “You should do what you believe in. If you want to face him, go. If you don’t, give his location to Wyre. Whichever you choose know this: you made the choice, you decided what was right. There is no wrong answer here Leah, just a choice.”

Leah chuckled “There are no right or wrong answers to anything this important…”

He looked to Wyre “I’m sorry Wyre. I know that this is part of your job as Bishop to protect the country and imprison criminals but…this is one I can’t let you have.”

Wyre nodded “I understand.”

“Soren. Mia. Zihark. Thank you for all the training…and for being my friends.”

The three nodded with Zihark stating “You aren’t marching to your death Leah. You will be back.”

He smiled at Zihark as Mia added “He’s right…we have the utmost faith in you.”

Leah looked to Soren last who just bowed his head.

“I will be back.”

With that the man walked away.

* * *

_Heogettr Inn_

The sun eventually set on the peaceful day in Heogettr and the Mercenaries returned to their inn. Ike announced they’d be staying in Hitenticul for a few more days as the Pieces prepared their gift for Titania.

No one was upset at that at all, in fact everyone was relieved to let their bodies rest before hitting the high seas again.

As Mia headed upstairs she ran into Soren. She noted the expression on his face as he walked past her and left the inn, she followed.

* * *

_Inn Exterior_

Soren stood outside looking at the moon as Mia joined him.

“Soren?”

“Mia…I…I’m really…really…stupid.”

Mia almost fell over “W-what? Soren, you know that’s not true.”

“It’s just like you said Mia. I overcomplicate everything. Some things beg to be analyzed in depth but others…you’re just supposed to trust your gut instincts. What you feel is often right…I always thought that was stupid…no choice should be made without serious consideration.”

Mia nodded “I can understand that but at the same time Soren…there are things that are best answered in that very way.”

Soren smiled “There are…just like how I feel about you.”

Mia’s eyes widened “What?”

He faced her “Back on Tellius. After we met…after you ambushed me…before that even…I wanted to tell you how I felt.”

Mia couldn’t find the words as Soren continued “But I let fear keep me silent and then I let the truths push me away…I never thought that maybe you wouldn’t care…that maybe, you were a special person. Despite everything part of me still feared you were like everyone else…when at the same time I knew you were special.”

Mia blushed “Soren. I…I’ve been…I don’t know how long but…or why but I feared telling you anything. Given how closed off you were before and how you didn’t want to share your past I assumed you’d never want me or anyone to be close to you…”

Soren smiled “When the exact opposite was true. Being separated from you made me realize how much I wanted and needed you next to me because…”

Mia looked up at him.

“Because…I’ve fallen in love with you.”

Not only did Soren feel a huge weight lift off him that he didn’t even know was there, Mia also felt the relief, choking back a sob she whispered “I love you too.”

She rushed forward and embraced him. “I’ve loved you for so long…I just…”

As the tears fell, Soren held her tightly, feeling his own eyes water.

“Mia…I have some very…very important things to tell you…and because I love you I have to tell you.”

She pulled away and looked up at him.

“I’ve known for most my life that…I’m a Branded.”

“A…Branded…”

Mia recalled what she heard of the Branded, people born of Laguz and Beorc unions, hated by both sides. It made a lot clear.

“That’s why you never wanted to say anything.”

He nodded “I thought…you’d be just like everyone else and hate me.”

“That could never happen, Soren.”

He couldn’t help but laugh as a tear fell “I know…I know…yet it still tore me apart inside…I let it tear me apart, I let the fear consume me. I should have trusted you…but everything inside told me not to…”

Mia sniffed “Soren. I could never hate you…no matter who your parents are or what you are…at the end of the day…you are the man that I’ve fallen in love with…that I want to be with…”

“It brings my heart so much joy to hear that but…”

Soren let out a shaky breath “Mia…the reason…that I…acted in such a way back near Goldoa…was because I learned who my parents were.”

Mia wiped a tear from Soren’s face “And you were afraid to tell me about that too?”

He nodded “I was…even more frightened when you told me your story…”

“My story…”

Soren looked into her eyes, he saw the overwhelming joy over having her feelings returned, the tears off happiness staining her face and the pure love was evident.

“I…”

He took a deep breath “I love you…Mia…so I have to tell you that…”

Swallowing, Soren finally finished “…that…Ashnard…was my father.”

He kept looking into Mia’s eyes as she processed what he said.

“Your…father…”

Soren pulled away from her “I’m sorry Mia…I just…I know that…I should know that this doesn’t…I don’t know. After you told me what happened to your family…”

He looked over to Mia as she whispered “The Daein army killed my family. Everyone I grew up with.”

Soren nodded and looked away “Ashnard ordered it most likely.”

Soren didn’t turn as she approached, her hand came to his cheek, turning him to face her “You didn’t.”

Soren scoffed “Is that it?”

Mia remained silent as Soren took her hand away “My father was the Mad King…my father killed so many people, tried to destroy Tellius because he thought it’d be funny…he…”

“His actions don’t reflect on you…Soren…were you even in Daein at any point in this? As long as I’ve known you you’ve been a mercenary.”

The sage shook his head “I feel such guilt over this…I shouldn’t but I do…and what Daein did to you…taking everything away from you…how am I-“

“Soren. I hated Daein and I hated Ashnard for what they did. I wanted them all dead.”

Soren’s eyes met hers as she continued “But I learned to control that hate…you may be Daein, Soren but I don’t hate you for it…I don’t hate Zihark for it or anyone else. I love you regardless of where you’re from. My hate towards Ashnard has nothing to do with you, Soren.”

“…that’s it?”

She nodded “That’s it. I love you…and that’s all that matters.”

Soren shook his head in disbelief “You just…accept it all? My blood? My parents? That easily?”

Mia approached Soren and smiled “Yes. I accept everything about you Soren.”

The man felt more tears sliding down his face. After all his late night stressing, the deep seated fear, the agony of the unknown.

Mia put a hand on his cheek. He found her eyes “I don’t deserve you.”

“Too bad…you have me.”

Unable to stop it, Soren smiled as Mia leaned in, meeting lips half way.

He never thought about kissing anyone before.

It was never something he dreamed of doing because of his origin, but Mia changed that as she changed so much of his life.

As they separated she whispered “I love you.”

Wrapping his arms around her waist he kissed her again, feeling her warm, soft lips was the most freeing feeling he’d ever experienced.

He now knew another truth about himself.

He was Branded.

He was the son of Ashnard and Almedha.

And he was in love with Mia.


	32. Duel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One last score to settle...one last story to close...

**Chapter 31 - Duel**

_Groopin Beach_

Sitting on the edge, Nihil looked out to the sun as the waves came in, stopping just before they reached him.

On his lap was Vermilion in its sheath.

He took a deep breath, it has been a few days since he gave the note to Leah but he knew, he knew his brother would be here.

“Nihil.”

Smiling to himself the man stood up and turned to face him “Leah…I’m glad you came.”

“Are you still human?”

Nihil raised an eyebrow as Leah added “You were at the Order’s Laboratory…”

“Oh! The vampires? One of them tried to change me to be just like them…nasty things…but I refused to change see? Same skin, same teeth, no wings. I wanted to fight you as myself.”

Leah shook his head “No effects at all? How?”

“I didn’t say no effects…the leader’s thoughts kept trying to control me. At first I refused them but then I thought…you’d probably find your way to their hideaway so I let myself be directed there, just to fight you.”

“Yet you ran away…”

Nihil shook his head “Too many other people including that woman…I could not trust anyone to leave our fight to us, they’d jump in the second you were in trouble so…I left.”

“What about Zihark…the way you struck him with your bare hands.”

Nihil looked at his hands “Well, fair to say I did get a little stronger as a result…but I told that woman who came after me that I am no one’s lesser. I’m sure I surpassed their hierarchy and look at who is still alive now…I was always superior to them.”

After a short silence, Nihil gripped the hilt of his blade “That’s all right? Can we start this?”

“You are not going to gain anything from this Nihil. The Sharks Row has fallen apart, all the Sharks are dead!”

“I know…and that’s fine. All I need in life is my fight with you.”

Leah shook his head as Nihil added “Don’t ask why…I gave you all my reasons. There is nothing else to say.”

“Nihil…Usvale isn’t too far off…mom and dad miss you. Let’s visit them. Let them see you. Please.”

“Those people haven’t meant a thing to me in years Leah…the money I sent was to keep up appearances that’s all…honestly I probably should have just stopped sending it…all things considered you most likely weren’t using it.”

Leah took a deep breath “Nihil…please…what am I going to tell them?”

Nihil laughed “You think you are going to kill me and walk away from here? Alive?”

“Nihil! Just tell me…if I do survive this…what am I supposed to tell Mom and Dad? Please! Tell me!”

Nihil crossed his arms “Tell them…whatever you want.”

“No! That’s not an answer and you know it! Do this one thing for me, as your brother! What do I tell them if you die here! I have to tell them something!”

Nihil shrugged “I won’t die here.”

“Just humor me with a response I’m begging you! I can’t go back to them with nothing!”

The man in blue pulled out Vermillion “Oh well.”

“Nihil!”

The man started taking a few steps forward, Leah’s hand flew to Cerulean’s hilt.

“I saw you fighting in the laboratory…you’ve gotten better…this will be everything I dreamed it to be.”

Pulling out Cerulean, Leah took a deep breath “We have to…don’t we? There is no other way…”

“Goodbye, Leah.”

Nihil charged his brother first, red blade slicing through the air and striking blue. Pushing the blade away, Leah struck back, Nihil laughing as he avoided the strike. Spinning his blade Nihil approached again, rotating himself and swinging his blade, three strikes blocked effectively by Leah before the other man leapt and kicked the center of his blade.

Leah stumbled a few feet back as Nihil landed and dashed at him, Vermilion flashing in from several directions. Leah amazed himself in that he could see the attacks and stopped each one before flipping away.

He recalled the fast attacks that Mia struck him with, the ones he could almost never counter. Could he stop these because Nihil’s sword is slower than Mia’s?

The man in blue shot forward again, flipping into the air and crashing to the ground near Leah, blade striking out the man in orange narrowly avoided it rolling aside before swinging Cerulean to deflect its red brother.

Spinning around Nihil nearly cut along Leah’s chest as the younger brother threw himself to the ground.

Seeing the blade coming again, Leah began rolling down the beach, Vermilion impaling the places he was in seconds after he moved aside. Flipping to his feet, he swung one leg out to kick Nihil, the man took one step back before charging forward.

Jumping over Vermilion, Leah landed and swept his leg across the sand, Nihil jumped over him, landing on Leah’s other side. Shooting to his feet, Vermilion shot out, Cerulean coming up in time to halt it.

Nihil pushed his blade against Leah’s harder, sneering as the younger brother stood up. Escaping the lock, Leah flipped away, Nihil chasing after him, blade cutting through the tails of his coat as he landed.

Rotating, Leah swung out Cerulean, deflecting two attacks from Nihil before jumping back and taking a breath. Nihil gripped his blade tighter before shooting forward, shoulder bashing Leah to the ground before swinging his blade, cutting only through legging, missing flesh as Leah rolled to his feet.

Nihil spun his blade as Leah realized that he himself wasn’t trying at all. He wasn’t trying to hurt Nihil despite the fact that he saw so many openings.

He came here to fight him and yet-

Nihil charged forward again, blades clashing with immense force, Leah clenched his teeth as Nihil flipped around kicking the younger brother back before jumping over him and spinning around, narrowly scraping his blade along Leah’s back.

Feeling the sting Leah faced his brother and stopped another strike. Nihil raised his bare hand, clenched it into a fist and struck Leah in the face, as the man stumbled away, Vermilion flashed and cut through Leah.

Bringing his blade up, Leah felt his brother’s weapon slice through his arm. Flipping about, Nihil kicked Leah in the chest, throwing the younger man to the sand before shooting at him, blade sinking into the ground.

Leah got to his feet and slashed at Nihil, cutting across the other man’s arm as he moved away. Nihil laughed, finally Leah was ready.

Leah on the other hand struggled to swallow. He was really doing this. He had to.

Nihil prepared to charge again only for Leah to lead it this time, yelling as Cerulean whistled through the air, striking Vermilion with intense force. Briefly surprised, Nihil’s weapon was easily forced away, allowing Cerulean to cut into his torso.

Clenching his teeth, the older man proceeded forward, both blades slicing through the air and clashing against each other. The sounds of the steel on steel echoed across the empty, silent beach.

Both men yelled as they brought their weapons to bear again, slamming the colored blades against one another multiple times, Leah yelled louder as he broke Nihil’s guard and cut through his leg. The older brother roared, spinning around and kicking the side of Leah’s head, flipping again he kicked the younger man in the back.

As Leah faced his brother he took a fist to the face, stumbling away as Nihil slashed his blade along Leah’s stomach.

Spitting Leah charged back in, steel stopping steel, clash after clash both men only felt their determination grow, muscles tighten and adrenaline pump.

As Cerulean drew blood from Nihil’s right shoulder, left side and left leg, Vermilion left along scar across Leah’s torso and right leg. Spinning the red blade Nihil went for a stab that Leah rolled away from, springing to his feet Leah swung his blade only for Nihil to grab it with his empty hand.

Leah’s eyes widened as Vermilion sunk into him. Clenching his teeth, Leah tore his blade from Nihil’s grasp, the older man ripped his blade out of his brother and leapt, kicking Leah’s chin and snapping his head back.

Hitting the sand again, Leah groaned as Nihil approached. Bringing Cerulean up, Leah knocked away the oncoming stab and rolled to his feet, swinging his blade against Vermilion again before stepping closer to his brother.

Both men spun around and struck each other’s blades, staring directly into each other’s eyes Leah saw Nihil’s anger and rage. The older brother only saw determination in his sibling’s eyes.

Breaking apart Nihil spat and spun his blade around while Leah took another deep breath.

They’ve each drawn blood but Leah was certain Nihil still had the edge. He wasn’t going to doubt himself though. He believed in the lessons from Mia, Zihark and Soren. The blade lessons and the life lessons. It all had to mean something and the answer was becoming painfully clear.

There was no more pleading. No more understanding.

Yelling, Leah charged forward again, blades clashed, the younger brother taking the initiative and kicking Nihil back before moving forward, spinning around he cut across Nihil’s chest before jumping to avoid Vermilion and making a long cut from Nihil’s left shoulder down to his stomach.

Roaring Nihil swung back, slashing through one of Leah’s legs as the younger man dove aside, charging back in Cerulean and Vermillion struck again, this time Leah avoided Nihil’s fist and shot back up, slashing through his exposed arm.

Reeling back, Nihil went for another punch that Leah easily avoided by jumping away. Spinning Vermilion, Nihil screamed and closed the distance between the pair, shoulder bashing Leah again, the man didn’t fall this time, finding his footing and looking up to see Vermilion just as the blade cut through his face.

Blood hit the sand as Leah covered his face with his bare hand, eyes looking through his fingers to find Nihil who spun his blade and moved in again.

Keeping his hand on the sharp, burning wound along his face, Cerulean met Vermilion several more times however, blocking his own vision led to several more cuts along his legs and one to his torso.

Jumping away, Leah wiped his face, trying to stop the blood escaping from his cut. Nihil laughed and charged in again. Clenching his teeth, Leah met him half way, Cerulean struck Vermilion with much more force, pushing the blade away, the end of Cerulean cut across Nihil’s cheek as the man spun around and tried to cut through his brother’s waist.

Rushing forward, Leah avoided the blade and skidded to a halt, turning around quickly to stop Vermilion again. Feeling a heavier force behind the red blade, Leah was pushed through the sand a bit more before Nihil broke his guard, hand grabbing Leah’s throat and throwing the man across the beach.

Leaping into the air, Nihil landed one Leah’s other arm, snapping bones. Leah clenched his sword tightly and swung out, leaving a deep cut in Nihil’s right leg. As the old brother hopped away, Leah stood, his weaker arm now completely useless.

Nihil just shrugged, gesturing to Leah’s dominant arm that was still gripping Cerulean. This was all a joke to him. This fight to the death between brothers…Nihil was not treating it as such, if anything, this was a game to him.

Spitting, Leah felt the blood on his face from the cut. Nihil spun his blade and moved forward, sword slicing through empty air as Leah appeared at his side, impaling his brother. Yelling, Nihil slashed at him, barely catching his chest as Leah jumped away, leaving his blade in Nihil.

The older brother tore the weapon out and threw it aside before charging Leah, screaming. Vermilion cut through the air around Leah as the younger man dodged each strike as best as he could read them, He felt another rip through his chest and another deep cut along his leg before seeing his opening and slamming against Nihil, pushing the man a few feet back.

Roaring, Nihil lashed out with a wide horizontal slash. Leah leapt over it and kicked Nihil in the chin, snapping his head back. Landing, Leah rolled past his brother and ran to his blade picking it up and turning as Vermilion drew near.

It cut deep into his broken arm as he threw himself to the ground. Pushing himself to his feet he jumped away from another follow up strike.

Nihil spat and barreled towards his brother again, Vermilion and Cerulean meeting again, this time Nihil used his bare hand to grip Leah’s broken arm. The younger man screamed in pain and dropped Cerulean, giving Nihil space to run him through again.

Laughing, Nihil tore his blade out of Leah, the man coughing blood as he stumbled to the side, barely stopping himself from hitting the ground with his one good hand.

Coughing again he eyed Nihil who kicked Cerulean over to him and gestured for him to stand.

Spitting Leah gripped his blade and stood up slowly, Nihil immediately moved in, slashing across Leah’s back as the man distanced himself from his opponent.

Rolling to his feet, Leah coughed again, covering his mouth with his arm he looked at the bloodstains on it and cursed.

Nihil rushed forward again as Leah brought Cerulean up, blades bouncing away from one another only to strike each other again. Leah had to ignore all the aches and pains, the blood, everything. He needed all his focus on his arm and his sword.

He promised he’d come back, his friends were waiting for him, he had to survive this.

Above all his parents were still at home unaware of what has transpired since Leah left their home for Wisin what felt like ages ago.

Screaming, Leah cut through Nihil’s chest before jutting his blade forward, ripping through the man’s side as he tried to move away, gripping the grievous wound Nihil spat. Not waiting for the man to recover Leah closed the distance again, slashing at him several more times, cutting across both his arms before attempting another stab, this time cutting through the man’s left arm.

Swinging Vermilion, Nihil slashed through Leah’s broken arm again before stepping forward and slamming his fist into the younger man’s gut. Gagging, Leah barely saw the incoming foot before it crashed into his face, breaking his nose the man was thrown into the air and landed in the sand several feet away, he knew his face was going to carry a rather nasty bruise.

Spitting, he sat up in time to see Vermilion drawing closer, the blade pierced his left shoulder and sunk into the sand, pinning him in place. Nihil shifted the blade left and right, it seemed like he was trying to sever Leah’s entire arm.

Cursing Leah swung his blade out, striking Nihil’s exposed side several times before the weapon lodged into him. Shearing it back and forth, Leah began cutting into Nihil who yelled and jumped away, ripping his blade out of the younger man.

Turning his head, Leah threw up all over the sand before pushing himself up his knees.

Nihil approached him from behind, grabbing the back of Leah’s collar he forced the man to his feet. From the corner of his eye, Leah could see Vermilion, Nihil was set to cut his head off.

Taking the only option he saw, Leah spun Cerulean and impaled himself, the blade running through Nihil as well, who was sufficiently caught off guard. Throwing himself back, the brothers fell to the ground, Leah on top, his blue blade still inside both of them.

Nihil roared and swung Vermilion, cutting into Leah’s right arm. Clenching his teeth, Leah ripped the blade out of them and rolled aside, throwing up again as Nihil stood up coughing blood.

Nihil eyed the younger man as he stood slowly, he could feel every cut burning. Leah’s eyes fell on Nihil who seemed to be acting like none of the injuries sustained were hurting him, that couldn’t be true.

The younger man didn’t come here to die. He didn’t come here for the innocents. He didn’t come here for his parents.

Leah’s eyes widened as he realized this.

He came here for himself.

Deep down, he wants to kill Nihil. He knows this.

And it is about time he accepted it.

Leah and Nihil roared at one another before charging forward, both blades striking flesh, winding back and striking steel.

Nihil leaned in close and smiled, Leah glared at his brother, the man he hated above everything. The man he hated for everything he did. The man he hated for making him want this.

Screaming Leah spun around quickly, his blade striking Vermilion’s hilt. Nihil yelled as he felt his fingers get sliced off. Vermilion fell to the ground, Nihil gripped his hand that was now missing three fingers.

He looked up to Leah, with no hesitation, Leah ran his brother through again, their eyes met, both reflecting anger, hate.

Leah screamed as he ripped his blade up and through Nihil’s body, through his chest and out his body from his shoulder, following through with the strike, Cerulean’s tip hit the sand, Leah’s back to Nihil as blood splattered all over the sand.

Gagging, Nihil couldn’t form words as he took one step back. He tried to clench his one fist, he tried to take a step forward only to stumble and lean back.

He tried to will his body forward, he wasn’t done. Not yet. He screamed in his mind for Leah to face him but the younger man would not.

Legs giving out Nihil fell to the sand, looking up to the sky. Blood pouring from his mouth as he focused on the sky above him. He tried to breathe in but found it impossible and instead he started choking and gagging.

Vision growing fuzzy, his body finally gave out. Losing all sense of himself everything faded to black.

Breathing hard Leah dropped Cerulean and took a few steps forward, refusing to look back.

Spotting Vermilion laying among severed fingers, he walked towards it, picking up the weapon and sheathing it.

Taking a deep breath the man began walking, leaving the beach. He attempted and failed to hold back his choked sobs and tears.


	33. One Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Greil Mercenaries' time on Hitenticul draws to a close...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This arc was a massive task but so far the next one is looking even bigger...someone help my hands.

**Chapter 32 - One Road**

_The Market Core, Heogettr_

Sitting in the park, laying against a tree Soren and Mia never felt more comfortable in their lives, the woman leaning her head on Soren’s shoulder with an ever radiant smile.

All day, Soren felt that he could finally breathe easier, though as he put his arm around her shoulder something came to mind.

“This is fine…right?”

Mia looked at Soren “What?”

He gestured to them “This.”

Mia just laughed “What, you holding me or…?”

“Mia, you know I’ve never done anything like this before…I’m comfortable but are there any…limits?”

Mia chuckled before kissing Soren on the cheek “Soren. We’re together now, if you feel like putting your hand around my waist, it’s completely fine.”

“Alright…I just…I don’t…touch…people a lot.”

As the sage watched Mia she just smiled “Just don’t overthink this Soren. Okay?”

He sighed and nodded “I’ll try…thank you…”

After a short silence, Mia thought of something “By the way…”

“Yeah?”

“What’s with the black fire?”

“Hm? Oh…I guess I should explain that as well…slipped my mind given…everything else.”

Mia chuckled as Soren continued “As a Branded I am apparently capable of a Branded specific skill…much like how Micaiah has the power of Sacrifice I have these black flames…Branded Fire.”

Soren shook his head “I still feel horrible for burning you…I can’t…I can’t forget your screams…”

Mia sat up and turned Soren’s head to face her “I know you didn’t do it on purpose.”

“But still…”

“I’m fine Soren. I’m alive.”

He sighed “I know. I know…but still…I’ve never been more scared and disgusted of myself…”

She took one of his hands in her own “So…this flame hurts you as well?”

Soren nodded “When Micaiah heals with Sacrifice it harms her as well. It’s true that she is using her own life for others but as the years have gone by she has been able to minimize the harm it brings to her…she assured me I can do the same with practice.”

Mia raised an eyebrow “When was this?”

“I received a Sending Stone from an anonymous source after the Dawn War. Turns out it was from Almedha. I use it to speak with Micaiah and ask for advice and help with this whole…Branded thing…there is just so much more to it than I thought.”

Mia narrowed her eyes “You can talk with people back home and you kept that to yourself?”

Soren shrugged “To my knowledge only Dragons and apparently Branded can use them…”

“Anything else?”

Soren thought “I spoke to Stefan as well. I think that’s everything…they’ve been a great help with many things…sorry for not-“

Mia smiled “No need to apologize, I was just playing with you.”

Soren chuckled as he put an arm around her and took a deep breath “I also learned that I have Heron blood somewhere in my lineage…it’s how I was able to heal Z back in Thyremog…among other things.”

“Really? I imagine that is very…very uncommon.”

He nodded “Very. Stefan and Micaiah have been very accommodating. I don’t think I thank them enough for their help…”

“Well thank them a bunch the next time you talk with them and tell them I said hi.”

“Of course…”

Mia’s eyes found Soren, there seemed to be another question in the back of his mind. “Soren. What’s wrong?”

“Hm? Nothing.”

She shook her head “There is something you’re thinking about pretty hard…or at least trying not to think about.”

Sighing the sage spoke “It’s Ulyus.”

“…what about him?”

“When…when he was telling me his story…about the man he was, about what happened to him. How his mind warped itself to have this obsession with immortality…it just…sounded so much like how my mind works. Part of the reason I became so invested in figuring out who was manipulating who in Thyremog and everything that has happened here in Hitenticul is because I can’t help it…these events were questions upon questions I had to solve.”

“Why?”

Soren faced her “Why?”

She nodded “Why? Ulyus…at the end of the day only wanted immortality for himself. He lost sight of his original goal, he abandoned his morals and lied to everyone about why he wanted what he wanted. He was selfish and maybe even scared of death. Why did you seek to answer the questions Thyremog and Hitenticul posed? It can’t be just because, right?”

Soren looked away and thought back, the answer was obvious, he couldn’t help but chuckle “I did it for us.”

“Exactly. From the moment I met you I had you pegged as someone who does care but would rather not let it show. You didn’t like us but you sure as hell weren’t about to let us get killed.”

Soren nodded “That’s true…”

“Unlike Ulyus, your desire to answer the questions is to give us the advantage against whatever is out there. To help us and in some way, protect us.”

Soren looked to Mia “It makes me sound far more heroic than I really am.”

Mia shrugged “All you have to know is that your mind isn’t a crazy one. You aren’t going to drive yourself mad.”

“Those are exactly the words I wanted to hear.”

They smiled at one another before turning back to look out over the park as several children ran by. A boy almost stumbled before noticing them, he waved a gesture returned by Mia before running off to join his friends.

That brought something else to mind, clearing her throat she began “I know we just…got together…but…would you be alright with letting the rest of the Mercenaries know about…us?”

The sage opened his mouth to speak but said nothing as Mia continued “Granted Ike, Titania and Z already know that I have feelings for you.”

“For how long?”

“Titania knew way back, she actually helped me a bit when I was feeling down. Z learned about it after Thyremog and I admitted it to Ike while we were headed for the Wildlands to find you…though Nephenee and Heather knew as well.”

Soren thought back to the day he spent with them, they didn’t even bring it up “Leia?”

Mia laughed “You think she’d keep quiet about it if she knew? She’d ask either of us the second she saw us if we were together yet.”

Soren smiled “She would.”

Soren stood, taking Mia’s hand she stood with him “Leah also knows…Z let him in on it.”

Mia chuckled “Of course he did…so…”

Soren sighed “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous…but I do love you Mia and they are my family. It wouldn’t make much sense to keep this from them.”

“Indeed it wouldn’t. So how about we tell them over dinner? The Pieces did invite us all for one last get together before we have to head off for Zatuo.”

Soren thought about it, standing before a table of everyone and telling that he and Mia were in love…he felt very nervous.

“Hey.”

He faced her as she gave him a small kiss “We’ll be fine. You don’t think they’re going to say something snarky eh?”

Soren sighed “Probably not…though I wouldn’t rule that out for Shinon or Uhnie…oh…right…Uhnie knew as well.”

Mia smiled “I’m not surprised.”

As they stood there, smiling to one another they were completely unaware of another man standing a few feet away before he coughed.

They both raised an eyebrow “Z?”

He gestured to them “Finally let the cats out of the bags eh?”

Soren started to speak only for Mia to kiss him before looking at Zihark “That answer your question?”

The man smiled and bowed “Indeed it does. Congratulations Mia. Soren.”

The sage thanked him “Any reason you told Leah about us?”

Zihark shrugged “He needed help…he needed to understand some things. I was just using the two of you as an example…I did feel bad about it later even if the info did help Leah.”

“That’s fine…though I am really worried about him…”

“He’ll be back.” Soren stated.

The other two nodded to him just as Soren recalled something he had to do “I almost forgot…I have to take care of….a thing. I’ll meet you two later.”

Bowing to Zihark he turned and embraced Mia. After a fraction of though he gave her a small kiss before walking off. Mia couldn’t help but fight off the intense blush as she whispered “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this.”

* * *

Uhnie leaned against a wall as she watched Shinon and Gatrie, the pair were painting pictures to try to determine what their Shade clothes would be.

Gatrie looked over to Shinon’s “A hat?”

“Yeah, a hat…got a problem?”

The Marshall shrugged as Shinon eyed his “This seems pretty simple.”

“I know. I feel exposed just looking at it.” Gatrie added.

“C’mon man, you know there is armor out there that doesn’t weigh a ton, just throw a chest plate and some shoulder guards onto it, make it comfortable.”

Gatrie tapped his chin as Uhnie called out “Can I see yet?”

Both men answered with “No.”

Uhnie rolled her eyes and returned to examining her nails.

Shinon stopped briefly before asking “Uhnie. Ever think of changing your outfit?”

She looked down at herself “What? To be more revealing? No thank you, you stare enough for ten men.”

“You like the attention.”

She chuckled “Doesn’t mean I want it from everyone.”

Shinon shrugged “Anyway, what I was actually going to say was just to change it to an outfit with more concealed compartments, you carry knives on a strap around your chest and in your boots fairly obviously. The dagger along your back is alright and the Fire Bomb pouch is cool, but if the other Shades can’t see it on your person-“

“I get it. I get it. I’ll look into it. Thank you.”

He smiled “No problem…and if you want to make it revealing, I won’t complain.”

“I’m spitting in your next drink.”

* * *

_Port Town Usvale_

“Oh my-“

“Leah!”

The man stood before his parents, his mother couldn’t bear to see how injured he was. His father noted his arm and asked if it was broken before muttering “Of course it is.” And leaving to find materials to build a sling.

His mother simply asked “What happened after you left here?”

“Did you hear about the Order of Rein? Lyger? Klein?”

His mother nodded as his father returned “This might hurt.”

As he moved Leah’s arm to fix it, the man didn’t feel it at all “I was in the middle of all that…killing the vampires and everything.”

Aer shook her head “You? Leah…why did you…you could have died!”

He smirked “Believe me, I almost did many times…but I had friends at my side. They helped me through it all. It all worked out in the end.”

As Eyal continued working he spoke “And Nihil? Did you find him?”

Leah remained silent until Eyal finished with the sling and stepped away “Leah?”

“I found him.”

Aer stood “Where is he?”

Leah gestured to himself “He did this to me.”

Eyal shook his head “Impossible. Why would he attack you? After all these years!”

“The truth is…I’ve been lying to the two of you…ever since Nihil left.”

“Lying to us? About what?” Aer asked.

Leah sighed “Nihil…he was involved with the Sharks Row. He was a fighter for them. It’s how he made the money he always had on hand…killing other boys.”

Eyal shook his head “No. Nihil would never do that.”

“He did! It’s why he always carried around that blade and never threw it away! He was killing people for money! A Shark bailed him out of jail and took him to Wisin where he kept killing people, all these years that’s what he has been doing!”

“Stop lying Leah! Nihil would never do anything like that! What proof do we have that he hurt you like this? Where is he!?”

“Do you remember the day he left? He gave me this.”

Leah took out the note and gave it to his father, Aer drew close, both reading the note.

_“You know what I’m doing. I’m giving you an ultimatum. Learn how to fight with a sword and come find me. I’ll be waiting for your challenge.”_

The pair looked to each other before Eyal asked “Nihil gave you this?”

“Yes.”

“Did Nihil give you this?”

Leah nodded again as his father’s eyes found him “Did. Nihil. Give you. This.”

“Yes! He challenged me! He wanted me to fight him to the death!”

“Leah…where is he?”

The man couldn’t help but scoff before gesturing to himself again “I fought him, he did this to me and I killed him.”

Eyal and Aer fell silent, the note dropping from his father’s hands as his mother asked “What?”

“He was never going to stop! He was a monster! I didn’t want you two to know and I regret lying to you but-“

“Why didn’t you bring him back here!?” Eyal screamed “Why didn’t you tell him to come see us instead of fighting him!?”

“I tried!”

“Did you really try? As much as you could?” Aer asked.

“I tried everything!” Leah yelled “He refused every approach, he nearly killed me multiple times! I kept trying to convince him to drop his blade and come home but all he ever wanted was to fight me to the death! In the end I had to accept that the brother I grew up with, the one you raised, died years ago. Nihil was dead to us the moment he started carrying around that blade!”

“So you just…killed him…that easily?” Eyal asked in disbelief “You took your blade and gutted your brother like nothing?”

“Like nothing? He was my brother! As much as I hated the monster he became, I still saw him as my brother! The one I played games with when we were children! The one who convinced me there was a monster under my bed only to apologize later when I couldn’t sleep! The one who always let me wake him up at night when I was scared of something or wanted something to drink! The one who stood up for me when we walked around the neighborhood and everyone called me a coward!”

Tears streamed down Leah’s face as he continued screaming “He was my brother! I loved him! And I killed him because he became a monster…there was no going back for him…he reached the end of his life long ago…I’m sure his whole existence for the last few years was just him wanting someone to best him, kill him in the field of battle and he wanted it above all else to be me. He survived every battle and countless wounds so that I could kill him! So I did. I. Killed. Nihil.”

Eyal and Aer remained silent as Leah wiped his eyes “I had to…”

“What happened to our children...?” Aer whispered.

Leah looked up “I’m sorry…mom…dad…I-“

“Get out.”

Leah faced Eyal “What?”

“Get. Out. You are no longer welcome here.”

Leah’s eyes found Aer as she turned and walked away in a state of shock. He then looked to Eyal “You are not my son.”

Leah swallowed before exiting the home, Eyal slamming the door behind him.

Standing outside, he looked around to his home town, to Usvale.

He no longer recognized it.

The small corners that brought him good memories now just reminded him of everything that Nihil had done.

The place was ugly.

The place was not home.

His last attachments to Usvale severed he left the town and knew that he was never coming back.

* * *

_Heogettr Inn_

“Thanks for all of your help Wyre.”

The man bowed “Don’t mention it Soren…I’m just surprised at how easily you picked up on all the fundamentals.”

Soren closed several books “Well…I’ve felt…freer as of late. Everything just flows so much easier now.”

Soren took a deep breath and let it go as Wyre smiled “You do look incredibly brighter. It’s almost as if you were carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders until a few days ago. What brought this on? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“I’ll tell you and everyone soon enough…I think…”

Wyre tilted his head “You think?”

“Just a little nervous.”

Wyre crossed his arms “You don’t strike me as the type of person to grow nervous over many things…but I assure you no one will think less of you for anything. You’ve proven to be a reliable man and a good friend.”

Soren smirked “Have I?”

“I can’t speak for everyone but the Pieces admire your mind.”

“My mind…”

Wyre nodded “Your mind is one of…brilliance. You are wise beyond years and skilled in far more techniques than most people are. Miina and I are no slouches when it comes to magic but I firmly believe you could expand your mastery to cover whatever you set your mind too.”

Soren couldn’t help but chuckle “As much as I could learn about it I doubt I’ll be wielding axes in battle any time soon.”

Wyre laughed “I suppose not. Well Soren, I must go to prepare for the dinner. Have a good day.”

“You as well.”

As the Bishop left Soren noted his Sending Stone and walked over to it.

“Micaiah.”

_“Soren? Sorry. I haven’t left Daein yet to look for Volke. I’m dealing with some internal…queen…stuff…wow I sound pretentious. I’m sorry.”_

Soren shook his head “Don’t worry about it. You are Queen of a country, I am immensely grateful that you make the time to take care of my requests.”

_“Of course…Soren…you sound…happy. As in…very happy.”_

“Do I?”

_“Quite. Did something happen.”_

Soren couldn’t fight off the smile as he spoke “I’m in love.”

He heard laughter before a response _“That is wonderful…I’m glad it all worked out.”_

Soren nodded “As am I...she says hi, by the way.”

Micaiah laughed “Tell her I said hi back and that I wish her the best.”

The sage smiled before asking “Micaiah…is…is Almedha around?”

_“Yes…do you want to talk to her?”_

“Yes.”

After a short silence, Soren felt a little…uncertain if this was the right call to make. But he remembered Micaiah telling him to consider at least talking to the woman and all things considered she wasn’t a terrible person.

_“Soren?”_

“…hello…Almedha.”

_“I…I am very happy to hear from you…are you alright?”_

Soren thought back to the final battle against the Order, how close to death he was and before that, the mess in Thyremog.

“Considering everything that’s happened since I left Tellius. Yes. I am alright.”

_“That’s wonderful news…I was never completely worried because I know how strong you are…but I allowed myself a little uncertainty. The world out there is unknown.”_

“It was…but now…”

Taking a deep breath he decided to let his…mother…know.

“Almedha. I feel I should at least tell you this because I know you really do care for me.”

_“What is it?”_

“I’m…in a…I’m in love with a Beorc.”

_“…oh…”_

“Her name is Mia. She is one of the Greil Mercenaries and she is…”

Soren wasn’t sure how to describe Mia in a way that would explain to Almedha how…incredible she is.

_“Soren. I have no right to have any sort of opinion on what you do with your life…but if you want to make the relationship work. Then I sincerely hope it does and that you are happy.”_

Soren nodded to himself “Thank you Almedha…she does make me happy. Far more than anything else in my life…”

Smiling he continued “Anyway, we have a few more things to take care of here, we’ll be leaving soon for another country in a bit.”

_“Okay…”_

“Actually. Did ships from Thyremog arrive in Tellius?”

_“Hm? Oh! Yes they did, I forgot how long ago, but Queen Elincia took King Lytros on a rather extravagant trip through Tellius to show him the lands and fill him in on their history. The man met with King Skrimir, Kurthnaga, Tibarn, Empress Sanaki and is on his way here…Micaiah is rather busy in preparations.”_

Soren nodded, that explained a lot actually.

_“Elincia actually had several ships sent out with journeymen and traders. Bastian went to Thyremog to lend his advice to the country’s political restructuring with Lytros’ blessing. That man can impress any noble with his words.”_

Soren chuckled “That goes without saying…thank you for telling me about this.”

_“It was no problem…I take it you have to go now.”_

“I do but…I’ll…try to keep in touch with you more, Almedha.”

_“I would…love that…”_

He could hear her sniffling about as she muttered a low “Excuse me.”

_“I look forward to hearing from you again Soren.”_

“Of course. Goodbye.”

_“Goodbye.”_

* * *

_The Market Core, Heogettr_

Instead of calling everyone back to Unitt, the Pieces set up their dinner with the Mercenaries in an extravagant restaurant, the owners were beyond thrilled to have customers of such renown.

As the preparations continued, Ike and Titania met with Miina outside.

“Queen.” Ike stated with a bow.

“Ike. Titania. I have something for you to see, I want you to test the heft just in case.”

Miina turned around and pulled out a large axe before turning and handing it to Titania. The woman tested Castle’s new weight, the pole was made longer and the axe heads were much smaller than before but still rather large. The weapon would be as deadly as ever, but much easier for the Deputy Commander to handle.

She tested it with a wide swing before examining the designs, red and gold.

“It’s yours so I gave it a woman’s touch.”

Titania looked back to Miina “Thank you. I’ll wield it with care and in memory of Lyger.”

Miina smiled “I take it, it works for you?”

Titania swung it around “Maybe…a quick spar will work out any kinks. Takers?”

Miina moved over and pushed Ike who chuckled “I got it, I got it.”

Titania spun the axe around and smiled “I can definitely tell this will do wonders for me.”

Ike pulled out Ragnell “You’re making me a little nervous.”

“Performance issues?” Miina quipped.

Titania laughed as Ike rolled his eyes before muttering “Really…there’s two of them.”

“Ike.”

The man looked to Titania and raised an eyebrow as she continued “If I land the first hit on you…you owe me something.”

“What?”

Miina laughed “I like the sound of this.”

Titania just smiled “Come on…I promise it is nothing terrible.”

“I don’t know…”

“Ike, I’m using the new Castle for the first time and you have Ragnell. Do you really think you are going to lose this?”

Ike sighed “I guess not but still...you know what? Fine. OK. Deal. Let’s go.”

Titania smirked and launched herself at Ike, Castle going wide, Ike immediately took note that the weapon was longer than her old one and took an additional step back to get out of range. Moving in he swung Ragnell, Titania spinning out of the way before bringing Castle down into the ground where Ike stood.

Flipping away a few times he landed near Shinon, Uhnie and Gatrie with the first one chuckling “What do we have here?”

Titania smiled at them “Hey, you’re here early.”

“We’re hungry.” Gatrie deadpanned as Uhnie nodded. Ike shot away from them back at Titania who hopped away from Ragnell’s swing before bringing Castle around, Ike flipping over it. Changing direction she aimed for his back.

Seeing this the Commander rolled under the second strike and shot up to his feet in front of Titania.

As he brought his blade up she struck him with the back end of the axe. Pushing him away a bit. Hand covering his chest he coughed and looked up as she spun Castle around “I win.”

He sighed “Damn it…you promise it won’t be anything horrible?”

She turned around and in a sing song voice said “I don’t know…maybe…”

Ike groaned and sheathed his weapon as Miina, Gatrie and Uhnie clapped, Shinon just crossed his arms.

* * *

_Heogettr Inn_

“Come on Soren, hurry up.”

Mia tapped her feet before the man finally emerged “Sorry.”

“What could you be working on? The messes are all settled!”

“Personal thing.”

The pair walked out into the lobby, Mia trying to guess the whole way what it is.

After the sixth ‘No’ she huffed “Y’know, it was probably one of those but I can’t read your face to see if you’re lying.”

“Mia I-“

“Hey! My favorite couple!”

The pair turned as Zihark approached “Fighting already?”

Mia shook her head and took Soren’s arm into her hands, pulling him close “We would never.”

Soren sighed but nodded “I can’t see us fighting.”

Zihark was about to comment when he saw something “Leah!”

The two turned to see the man approaching, clothes torn and bloodied and one arm in a sling.

He raised his other “Hey.”

Soren looked to Zihark “There is a staff in my room.” The man nodded and took off as Mia neared Leah “Are you alright?”

“Yeah…yeah…”

“You really don’t look it.”

He smirked “I know…but…things have changed.”

Soren raised an eyebrow “What do you mean?”

Zihark reappeared and handed Soren the staff, the man began healing Leah who sighed “Everything just became simple…there is only one road for me…for all of us it seems.”

Zihark crossed his arms “One road to where?”

“Zatuo. I’m coming with you.”

“Are you sure?” Soren asked.

The man looked to Soren and smiled “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. You three are my friends forever right? I’m sticking with you.”

Soren brought his staff to Leah’s broken arm “If you’re sure, we’ll talk to Ike about it…though I have no doubt he’d let you come along.”

“Good to hear…”

Soren, Mia and Zihark watched as the man untied his sling and tested his arm, the three knew exactly what happened. Why he was here and as hurt as he was.

But they were also sure something else happened, something Leah may never share but regardless, they were friends and they were sticking together.

* * *

Everyone sat down for dinner and as they were served Yuuten addressed them all “I know you will be leaving soon, I just want you all to understand how grateful we are for what you’ve done for all of us. Thank you.”

Miina and Wyre echoed his gratitude before Yuuten gestured to all the food “Enjoy.”

As everyone ate, Mia looked over to Ike “Boss.”

“Yeah Mia?”

“You wouldn’t mind it if Leah came with us to Zatuo right?”

The man looked over to Leah, before he could speak Ike cut him off “Not at all. You sure you’re ready to leave Hitenticul?”

“Absolutely certain.”

Ike smiled “Alright. Welcome aboard, Leah.”

The man smirked as Uhnie called out “I seem to recall you being against me tagging along.”

Ike sighed “I wasn’t against it I just-“

“I see how it is. You’ve been marked Ike.”

The hero brought his hand to his face “Uhnie…take it easy on me, I’ve already got a debt with Titania, is that enough?”

The Deputy Commander smiled “We’ll see.”

“Can you at least give me a hint, Titania? Something to ease my anxiety.”

The woman thought before answering “It’s probably something you’ve never done before.”

He raised an eyebrow “That doesn’t really narrow it down…or inspire confidence…”

Titania just shrugged, causing Ike to groan.

“And this?”

“That is a special kind of fish called Trick Swimmer, they’ve grown quite accustomed to avoiding netting. Pretty hard to catch.”

“And this?”

Wyre sighed “Shinon, you haven’t even eaten anything yet, I’ve explained almost everything on the table to you!”

“Well I don’t know what this all is, I barely ate during the Rein nonsense and-“

Uhnie grabbed a bit of Trick Swimmer and shoved it in his mouth “Chew! Or else?”

The Shade barely made out Shinon’s “Or what?”

She leaned in close and whispered in his ear, he groaned “That’s not fair.”

She just smirked “Chew.”

Gatrie’s laughter came from behind Uhnie “She has you down, Shinon.”

As the man pulled the fish out of his mouth and swallowed the bit he sighed “No she doesn’t…this is good.”

Wyre chuckled “Indeed.”

“Is he always like this?” Uhnie asked, turning to Gatrie “What? Hard to handle? Of course, that’s his thing. Though I’ve never seen anyone handle him as well as you do.”

“What can I say, I have many talents.”

Shinon rolled his eyes as he took another bite.

Mia looked over to Soren, he tried to keep his expression normal but she could tell he was worried. She leaned in and whispered _“It’s alright Soren…we don’t have to say anything. I’m sorry I brought it up.”_

He turned to face her, seeing the concern in her eyes. She smiled at him _“We can wait as long as you want.”_

He looked from to everyone seated around the table, stopping on Zihark who sat on his other side, the man just gave him a smile, putting a hand on his shoulder before returning to his meal.

Soren faced Mia again “Let’s do it.”

“A-are you sure?”

He noticed that Mia was now concerned and nervous. Soren nodded “I’m sure.”

Standing up together, Mia cleared her throat, most of the noise died down as everyone faced them “Hey…guys…”

“What’s up Mia?” Ike asked, her eyes moved from him and his smile to Titania who just nodded.

Mia looked back to everyone else and gestured to Soren “Uh…we just wanted to let you all know…”

“That we’re together.” Soren finished.

Gatrie leaned back “…really?”

Shinon opened his mouth, cut off by Soren “Yes Shinon. As in together-together.”

Mia put an arm around the sage “As in boyfriend-girlfriend together.”

“That’s great!” Mist stated rather loudly followed by Boyd’s “Yeah! Happy for you Mia, Soren.”

Oscar nodded his head as well “You two look happy.”

“Very!” Mia answered.

Soren nodded “Happier than I’ve ever felt before…”

Mist and Miina let out overly long “Awwwws.” At Soren’s statement as Shinon shook his head “Really? You two? When did…how?”

Uhnie smacked the back of his head “I seem to recall you saying Soren was family, be happy for him.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t not say it.” Ranulf added from across the table before looking to Soren and Mia “Hope every day is as bright for the two of you.”

“And about damn time Mia.” Titania stated loudly.

Mia blushed at that as Yuuten raised a glass “To the happy couple.”

“Hear! Hear!” Wyre added.

Leah raised his glass and looked at them “Congratulations.”

Soren’s eyes found Ike as the man raised his glass and nodded to him.

Shinon gave Uhnie an odd look as he raised his glass, unable to read her expression he just sighed before gesturing to Soren and Mia.

The pair faced each other as everyone took a drink, the woman couldn’t help but lean in and kiss him. As everyone put their drinks down they cheered for the couple.

* * *

Afterwards the group found themselves outside, Uhnie joined Soren and Mia, putting an arm around both of them.

“You two…I’ve only known you for a month or so but wow it was so obvious.”

Mia laughed “Ike wouldn’t believe that. He expected nothing until I told him.”

Soren shook his head “He was always like that.”

“Welp. Mia. Shorty. Hope everything is fantastic from here on out.”

“Thank you Uhnie.” Mia said, Soren adding “Thanks for being my friend.”

“Don’t mention it.”

As she started to leave Soren called out “How are you and Shinon doing?”

She turned back around “Well…our relationship isn’t so…cut and dry.”

Mia and Soren faced her the woman speaking “And?”

Uhnie sighed “It’s…complicated.”

Soren couldn’t help but laugh “I thought that once as well…”

Leah and Zihark passed by Uhnie, the Daein speaking “Hey, thanks for all the work you ran during the Rein stuff.”

She nodded to him “Don’t mention it and I didn’t do it alone.”

“Well, thank Shinon for us.” Zihark stated. “It is really handy having a Shade along with us…especially one so open compared to Volke.”

Uhnie crossed her arms “Well I can safely say not many Shades are so personable. You all got lucky with me.”

“Indeed we did.” Soren said.

“Uhnie!” She turned to see Shinon and Gatrie, the archer speaking “Leave the happy couple alone, we’ve got some designs to show you.”

“Finally…well, Soren, Mia, Zihark…see you around. And Leah, welcome aboard!”

He bowed to her “Thank you, Uhnie.”

“Three questions.”

“Shoot.”

“Are you attracted to anyone in the group?”

Leah raised an eyebrow “Ah…no?”

Uhnie nodded “Good so I can make whatever jokes up I want. Second how old are you?”

“Nineteen.”

“Hmm…filter?”

“No filter.” Shinon said, joining them “You don’t even know what the word means.”

Uhnie laughed “Right. Last one…ever heard of Desert Dragon?”

Leah tilted his head “Desert…Dragon? No…I mean there is a desert on Pohelle but no…dragons…”

Uhnie smiled “Thank you for your honesty. I’d reward you but I’m pretty tired. Once again, welcome to this loveable lot and I’ll see you around.”

As she walked away, Gatrie followed, bowing to the group as Shinon faced Soren.

“What is it?” The sage asked.

“…nothing…nothing at all.” He walked off leaving Soren a bit…confused.

As the four started heading back to the inn, Mia spoke up “Desert Dragon?”

“A Shade maybe?” Zihark guessed.

Shrugging Mia spoke “She never mentioned this one before.”

“I’m pretty sure there is no such thing on Hitenticul.” Leah added. “Though I believe you all mentioned she was involved in some pretty dark stuff so normal people probably have no clue who or what Desert Dragon is.”

Soren looked up at the night sky “Maybe we’ll find out some day.”

* * *

_Quadnis Pier 3_

“Hey! Hey!”

Stopping, Shinon, Uhnie and Gatrie turned as an older man ran up to them “I heard the news, tried to find you guys…thank you…thank you!”

Shinon nodded “Don’t mention it Tohgum. I think you can head back to Thyremog now…should be all clear down in Wisin and Usvale.”

He bowed to them “Neteau is actually taking me back.”

Gatrie nodded “He was still here?”

“Kind of got pulled into at least one part of this mess.” Shinon commented “What about the psychic?”

“Zaya? She’ll be coming too…most likely to visit her cousin’s grave.”

“Well that’s good then.” Uhnie stated “We wish you the best Tohgum.”

“Thank you. All of you.”

With that the man left, Gatrie looking at Shinon “Is that a satisfied smirk for doing a good deed I see?”

“No.”

Gatrie just laughed as Uhnie signaled for them to follow her to the ship “So what do you think of our outfits?”

She looked to the archer “Yours is so self-indulgent but I’ll let the other Shades judge it…and yours is pretty simple Gatrie but I think that’s fine.”

Shinon rolled his eyes as the Marshall nodded “Those Shades better be ready to fear Thunder and Lightning!”

“Though, if you don’t mind I don’t want you to throw yourself in the front of it, you won’t have as much armor and these guys are quick.”

Gatrie brushed of Uhnie’s concern “I won’t be wearing most my armor so I’ll be far faster.”

“He’s right.” Uhnie looked to Shinon “He marches around with that steel prison on so much that he’s probably one of our fastest people when he isn’t wearing it.”

The Shade smirked “Now that I’d like to see.”

As they boarded the ship, Ike and Titania stood with Yuuten and Miina, the Pieces bowing again.

“I really can’t take another line of thank yous.” Ike stated.

Yuuten smiled “Maybe not but that’s all we have for you. Well…and this.”

Miina handed Titania a parchment, looking over it she smiled “A map of Zatuo. This will be useful.”

The Queen nodded “Indeed, we also talked with the last line of traders who returned from there, they said there is talk of something or other brewing but they showed no immediate concern.”

Titania tilted her head “Hm…unlike Thyremog or Hitenticul which were all one solid land divided into States or Major Cities it seems like Zatuo is a combination…probably a lot closer in form to Tellius.”

Ike noted the largest one was a land named Qeen, Yuuten pointed at it as well “Most of the traders say it is the best place to go as it is very peaceful and organized but several more have found the Coast City Nevrez to be a just as well spot. It is in the smaller independent country of Wan so…”

“Smaller and less busy sounds like just what we need.” Ike stated as Titania rolled up the parchment.”

“Thank you once again for your hospitality.” Titania stated “We’re glad to have made such allies.”

Miina smiled “As are we…now we just need to decide who is going on the inaugural voyage to Tellius.”

Yuuten laughed “I think Wyre is the clear choice, he is the youngest of us and will be the deciding factor on our new Knight and Rook. This land will have a new generation of leaders in a few years and Wyre is the best to see it off.”

The four looked over to Wyre who was talking with Soren, Mia, Leah and Zihark.

“Good for him.” Ike stated.

Yuuten and Miina bowed one last time “We wish you the best.”

As they walked away, Ike and Titania fell into step next to each other, approaching their ship.

“Titania.”

“I’m not going to tell you what it is.”

Ike sighed as she added “Just trust me, it won’t be anywhere near as terrible as you think it to be.”

“Of course I trust you, I’m just concerned with facing something that I have no idea what it is.”

Ike looked to her as she met him with a smile “It won’t be anything involving fighting or betting or any such thing. It’s innocent, I swear.”

“Alright then…you think anything will happen on Zatuo?”

“That will drag us into it? That is a possibility…we are looking for these men. Tyse Erent, Zijo Oit and Norad Jyuugo. Given what Klein said about what he was doing before the Order caught him…something tells me we have to proceed carefully.”

Ike sighed “Indeed. But I’ll have you at my side so we’ll be fine.”

She looked to Ike “Of course…we will be.”

“You alright?”

“Hm?”

“I don’t know you just…sounded odd.”

Looking away she shook her head “Nothing to worry about, Ike.”

“Y’know you’ve started calling me Commander a lot less.”

“…have I? I’m sorry.”

Ike laughed “That’s fine, I’m not complaining, just observing.”

Titania smiled again as they boarded the ship.

Wyre bowed to the four before him, Mia chuckling “We’re good with all the thanks Wyre…and we’re friends, come on.”

Straightening up the man nodded “Indeed we are…I can tell that the four of you are now on one road, destined for…a lot.”

“A lot?” Wyre nodded to Leah “It’s just a feeling I have but…there is a lot laid out before you. But you all will conquer it…I have faith in you.”

“And if we run into some trouble, can we expect your aid?” Zihark asked.

Wyre shrugged “As Bishop of Hitenticul I can’t say. But as Wyre Reh. As your friend I can say: absolutely.”

Mia approached “Then this isn’t goodbye. It’s until next time.”

Wyre held out his hand only for Mia to hug him. He hugged her back “Indeed. Until next time.”

As she moved away he looked over to Soren “Any last inspirational words Wyre?”

“Nothing I can say will mean as much as it should now Soren. But you all know that if you stick together…you can’t be stopped. All of you.” The man gestured to the ship.

Wyre smiled as the four bowed to him, Leah and Zihark heading off first.

Mia took Soren’s arm into her hands and pulled him along “One last thing Wyre! Propose to Shae before we meet again!”

He laughed at Mia’s statement “I fully intend to. Farewell.”

* * *

_At Sea_

Standing with arms around each other, Soren and Mia watched as Hitenticul vanished over the horizon.

Mia leaned into the sage and let out a heavy breath.

Whatever came next Soren was ready because he had Mia and his whole…family with him.

_Hitenticul Arc End_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original Hitenticul - 17 CH - 29,001 Words  
> REDUX Hitenticul - 17 CH - 105,808 Words


	34. Day One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arriving at Nevrez the Mercenaries spend their first day on Zatuo in peace...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zatuo is going to have quite a bit of set up, but it's all for one hell of a kick off, can't wait to get there.

_The Zatuo Arc_

**Chapter 33 - Day One**

_The Tow Union_

_Shining City, Bryte_

“We always choose the oddest places to meet.”

“Indeed we do.”

Two men nodded to each other, another regular meeting to discuss their progress.

One was very tall with long silver hair, bright red eyes with yellow pupils seemed to take in everything and once, he gave off an unsettling presence.

He was armed with a dark green chest plate, shoulder guards and arm guards all with golden trims over his blue body armored vest. His gauntlets were just as green and he wore an additional piece of armor going from his wrist down his forearm with a large blade sticking out of it for close quarters. His blue leggings were unarmed but led to large boots similar in design to his armor as well as having a black lower cloak hanging behind his legs. Along his back was a single large black blade.

“So…find anything interesting in Benkanan.” The man asked, his eyes watching every person who walked by them very intently.

“Quite a few things actually…”

The other man had short red hair, his blue eyes evident, filled with rage and not as calculating as his comrade. He was dressed in scarlet armor that seemed to be burned by some sort of serious flame.

His black suit beneath did not show signs of wear or tear but his exposed right arm was almost completely burned, at his back was a hooked blade with a portion of the inside of its sharp edge seemingly missing, but in reality it gave space for the blade to catch limbs or necks and cut cleanly.

“Care to fill me in Oit?”

Chuckling the man let out a sigh “Tell me what you found out there, I’ll tell you what I found in Benkanan.”

“This isn’t a joke Oit. There are only two of us now.”

Oit brushed off the other man’s comment “We are the better two. What do we need Erent and Kruse for, really? Besides we were the ones-“

Holding his hands up the other man sighed “I don’t care. Forget them. What did you find?”

Oit shook his head “You are no fun today Jyuugo. Okay…so this thing.”

Oit gestured to his blade “Has been bitching at me since I picked it and its buddies up BUT I’ve broken it.”

Jyuugo eyed Oit’s arm “For some reason I don’t buy that.”

“Well you should, I’ve reigned this fucker in and have granted the other three to some of the most…interesting…people I could find.”

The two came to a stop, Jyuugo crossing his arms “You gave them away?”

“Well, they need to be given a thorough test and this stupid sword did enough of a number on me…if we had found an axe I’d give it to you but you don’t like spears, hate bows and despite your mastery over magic you’d rather be in someone’s face. What was the point of mastering all styles of combat and earning the Dread Fighter title if you were never going to use it?”

Jyuugo shrugged “I was just testing myself…and I passed. So who did you give the weapons to?”

“Oh, you’ll see.” As they continued walking, Oit sniffed the air “Chaos is coming.”

The pair eyed each other, Oit smirking “And this time…I’ll be the cause of it.

* * *

_The Free Nation of Wan_

_Coast City, Nevrez_

“Six days…much more manageable eh?” Ike stated.

Titania nodded “Indeed…what do you think of it?”

Ike shrugged, the ship ride over was mostly uneventful and now Zatuo was drawing close, specifically the Nevrez port. Ike couldn’t help but fight off similarities between this and their arrival at Hitenticul.

“Ike, come on. You can’t keep expecting bad things to happen everywhere we go.”

He looked to Titania “I know. I know. Honestly after those crazy guys on Thyremog and the Vampires on Hitenticul…we should be set to go up against anything.”

“Indeed we are.”

“You want to hit something with Castle?”

Titania chuckled “I can just hit you with it if I really need to.”

Ike laughed “That is true.”

The ship drew closer to Zatuo bringing Nevrez into much clearer sight. Zihark smiled “Well, well! This is quite the sight!”

The city was spread along the coast and it had a busy feel, but did not look at all congested. It was a comfortable kind of busy.

The port itself that they pulled into had quite a few ships present and many people dismounting, rejoining with families, friends and significant others.

“Wonder where they all came from…” Leah stated.

“There have to be more places out there than Hitenticul, Thyremog and Tellius.” Mia answered.

Soren continued to examine the map of the country that the Pieces gave them. Zihark and Mia put their elbows on his shoulder to give it a look while Leah peeked in from behind.

“This place is much more separate in its rule…a lot like Tellius. Instead of Crimea, Daein, Begnion and so on we have the Free Nation of Wan, the Tow Union, the Fledgling Democracy of Dre, the Crown Land of Atro, the Benkanan Republic and the Imperial State of Qeen.”

“Sounds more complicated to explore.”

Zihark looked to Leah “Indeed it does…all of Thyremog was just Thyremog, same for the three Islands of Hitenticul…this place though, everyone goes with their own flow.”

Docking, the four heard Ike call out that they were dismounting.

“So what will the four of us do first?” Zihark asked rather excitedly.

Leah looked at the sun, it was almost noon “We didn’t get here as late as I feared to I guess we can just…take a look around.”

“I actually have a pretty good idea.”

The four turned as Ranulf approached, Ike and Titania behind him. The hero speaking “He does. Oddly enough.”

Ranulf gave a sarcastic laugh before turning to the four “Honestly, we should all get a change of clothes. Look more like normal people of Zatuo…or in this case…Wan.”

Mia looked down at her clothes “Y’know…we have spent a little too much time dressed to fight.”

“I said the same thing.” Ike added with a chuckle.

“So it’s settled! Let’s get some new duds!” Leah nodded to Zihark “Sounds like a plan.”

As the Mercenaries stepped on the dock, Mia tapped Soren’s shoulder “I think we should get something really nice.”

He tilted his head “Why?”

“Well…I…kinda…want to go on a date.”

“Date?”

As Mia nodded, Soren thought about it. He was still new to the whole relationship thing. A date was never something he ever imagined taking part in. Frankly he had no clue what it entailed.

“Sounds…nice…I guess.”

Mia smiled “Don’t worry Soren, I’ll take lead on our first date. Trust me though, it is nothing complex.”

He nodded “If you say so.”

As the pair began walking Mia called for Leah and Zihark “You two can come along, just not on our date.”

Leah laughed “We wouldn’t dream of it.”

“I’m sure Leah and I can find a way to enjoy the rest of the day without your oh so valuable company.”

As they walked off, Uhnie, Shinon and Gatrie walked down a different street, Uhnie speaking up “We’re going to get you two dressed to kill.”

“Literally.” Gatrie stated.

“I have to admit, I love the changes you made to my sketch.” Shinon pointed out.

“That’s because I have the ever observant eye for detail.”

“Right and I’m just a slob.”

Gatrie tilted his head “You sure we’ll find everything we need here?”

Uhnie shrugged “Maybe, if we don’t, we’ll improvise.”

As the rest of the Mercenaries left, Ike turned to Oscar and Titania leading their horses off the ship.

“Ike, you should get some pretty nice clothes too…nothing too overly fancy.”

He sighed “Is this for that bet you won?”

She smiled “Maybe. But it isn’t what I want you to do, I just want you to be more comfortable.”

Scratching the back of his head he asked “So…when?”

She looked up at the sun “Tonight. We’ll find an inn close by to change and from there we’ll do our thing.”

Winking she walked away, Oscar following “Don’t worry so much Ike, how bad could it be?”

Ike shook his head “I honestly have no idea.”

* * *

“Do you even know where we are heading?” Leah asked.

Mia chuckled as Soren answered “No. If the place sells clothes we figure it’d be obvious.”

“No harm in asking around.” Zihark stated.

As the four came to a stop, a man bumped past Leah, almost falling over only for the Islander to catch him and straighten him up.

“Woah! Sorry about that, didn’t know there was someone behind us.”

“N-no, don’t worry about it…that was my fault.”

Zihark shook his head “Don’t apologize!”

“O-okay…”

“By the way…you from around here?” Zihark asked.

“Y-yes. My name is Leek Peilh. Uh…do you…need help?

“We’re actually looking for a place to buy some new clothes. Just standard stuff.” Zihark continued, Mia pointing out “Though we’d like something a bit nicer.”

Leek nodded “O-oh! I know some good places.”

“Great, mind showing us around?” Leah asked.

“No problem! I’d be…happy to!”

“By the way, I’m Zihark. This is Leah and the happy couple is Soren and Mia.”

Leek nodded to them “Nice to meet you all. What brings you here?”

As Leek began moving the four fell into step behind him, Leah speaking up “Just the need for clothes.”

“Am I wrong in…assuming you all came from…elsewhere?”

Soren shook his head “Given we need help finding our way around…no. We’re all probably as foreign as foreign can get.”

“I see…did…sorry, I’m intruding.”

Mia laughed “Its fine, we’re kind of used to being the odd ones out.”

Leek nodded, with Soren thinking briefly about the men Klein Kruse told them about. Seeing Mia, Zihark and Leah smiling though he decided to hold off on asking about them at least for today.

* * *

Wandering the streets alone, Ike took in the sights. How peaceful the place look compared to everything they’d seen up to that point.

He nodded to a few people as they walked by. He felt so far away from everything he’d done here. No one knew his name, his deeds. He was just another man. That was…comforting in an odd way.

“Excuse me.”

Ike turned “Yes?”

“I saw you and quite a few people come off a ship…you flew no flag so I take it you are from pretty far out.”

Ike nodded “We are. We come from a land called Tellius. It is quite a distance from here.”

“Really? Oh…pardon me…my name is Hyte Comdoe. You?”

“Ike. Well Hyte…any other reason you stopped me?”

Ike took note that Hyte was a pretty big man, though he wore no armor he carried a spear across his back, a knight no doubt.

“I was with a friend of mine, he said you were all…odd…I wanted to see if that was true.”

Ike chuckled “Is this friend what he would say ‘normal’?”

Hyte shook his head “No, Enri is blind but as such he relies on his other senses. I told him all people are odd but he was still wary.”

“Y’know I always forget that being Tellian makes us noticeably different whether we realize it or not. I see myself as just another person though to you and this Enri it seems we look like something else.”

Hyte nodded “Isn’t that always the case?”

As Ike continued walking Hyte joined him “Since this is your first time here, need anything?”

“Not especially. Though I’d like to know why you carry a spear.”

Hyte gestured to Ike’s two blades “Probably the same reason you carry more than any man should.”

Ike smirked “I actually wield these two at the same time.”

Hyte’s eyes widened “Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Hm…impressive. Well my spear is for my own protection.”

Ike looked around, seeing people laughing and enjoying themselves “Is there danger?”

“There is always danger.”

“I suppose so…well if you want to help, I need clothes…normal…going out clothes.”

“Date?”

“Date? No I don’t…think…so…”

Hyte watched Ike’s face shift into deep confusion “No, just spending the night with a friend.”

“Male or female friend.”

“Female.”

Hyte laughed “Sounds an awful lot like a date.”

Ike sighed “Do you know where I can get something or not?”

Hyte came to a stop and gestured to the building before them. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it…mind if I stick with you.”

“Why?”

“What Enri said…maybe there was a reason for it.”

Ike shrugged “Feel free. I’d like to meet this Enri.”

“Maybe later if he stops being so wary.”

* * *

Stroking her horse’s mane, a smile came to Titania’s face “What do you think? Will he hate it?”

The horse let out a huff, causing her to laugh “He probably will but he owes me. No backing out…”

“Hey Titania, we’re heading off to grab a bite at…wherever.”

She turned to see Boyd, Mist, Oscar, Rolf and Ranulf, the middle brother calling out “Wanna come along?”

She shook her head “Not now…I’m not really hungry.”

“Alright, if you change your mind just come find us we’ll be on the east side of this place.” Ranulf called out with Rolf adding “We won’t go too far!”

“Thank you. Enjoy yourselves.”

After they left, the woman looked back, happy to hear the others were going to do something normal. She spotted Castle and thought about Ike’s worries. She didn’t want anything bad to happen but regardless, carrying around the axe was almost a necessity.

“You always assume the worst…we’ll be fine…and as for tonight…”

Stroking her steed’s mane again she asked. “What do you think about what I’m planning tonight?”

The horse let out a low whiny causing the red haired woman to sigh “Tell me about it…but maybe…”

She shook her head _“Honestly…what am I thinking…I shouldn’t but I want to.”_

Tapping the side of her head she stood up. She’s been at war with her own thoughts for a while now but it’s just been getting worse. However she was sure that if she didn’t think about it she’d make some sort of mistake. She’s not sure what kind of mistake but she’d make one.

Feeling something odd she turned around to see a man in green across the road at the edge where the ground dipped into the ocean. His pale eyes were looking right at her. Exiting the stable she approached “You always watch random strangers?”

He blinked.

“You may be blind but it’s really easy to tell.”

“I apologize.”

“No worries just don’t make a habit about it.”

He nodded as something came to Titania’s mind “You a local?”

“Yes.”

“Do you if anything…bad is happening around here?”

“Bad?”

Titania nodded “My family and I have seen some…bad things to say the least and this place looks nice so far but…”

“Before.”

“Before?”

The blind man nodded before pointing to himself “Enri Tous.”

He held out his hand, shaking it she responded “Titania. What is this about before?”

“Before now some…bad things happened. Not anymore.”

The woman wasn’t sure whether or not that was a good thing, deciding to drop it she asked “Why were you watching me?”

“Hikea.”

“Hikea? You know saying one word doesn’t really-“

Enri gestured, causing Titania to turn around, on the roof of the stable was a sleeping wyvern.

“He told you to stalk me?”

“No…we were just flying…new scents attracted him here. This was the third time strange scents attracted him.”

Titania became alert “When were the other two times?”

Enri looked up “Five months ago…and a month after that. Five months ago he flew to a Port in Dre we rarely got to and the month after he brought me here. Then now…four months later…here again. He has a very good nose.”

“He blind too?” Titania asked, honestly a little surprised when Enri nodded.

“Did you find anything?”

Enri shrugged “We got closer and something scared Hikea. He flew away from the very dock he brought me to before we could do anything.”

Titania narrowed her eyes “You don’t say…”

She crossed her arms, the dates lined up. If what Klein said about his former comrades was true, she could very well imagine them giving off dark presences. Looking up to the blind man she nodded “Thank you Enri.”

“For what? We just met?”

“Well, chance meetings often lead to great discoveries. It may only help a little but what you told me helps.”

As Titania started walking away, Enri called out “Are you here to stop something bad or start something bad?”

Titania turned around and shrugged “Hopefully neither.”

* * *

“Come on you two…figure it out.”

Hearing Shinon and Gatrie groan, Uhnie turned away and sighed “I’ll be outside…honestly you two are like women.”

Exiting the store she shook her head before noting something from the corner of her eye. Casually walking away she turned down an alley and pulled up her face mask before kicking up the walls onto the roof, noting something running away.

Acting quickly she shot off in pursuit.

Dropping into an alley she swung out her blade, deflecting a knife before continuing the chase, the other person shooting back up onto the roof of a building and taking off, Uhnie close behind.

All of a sudden the second person came to a halt, Uhnie followed suit and pulled out her knives.

“…a Shade…”

The other one turned to face her…a woman. Uhnie did not let her surprise show, Volke did say female Shades were rare…but there were some.

“Why were you watching me?”

The other woman shrugged “I was watching someone else…y’know. Recon. What we do.”

“Then why did you run?”

“I was on my way back…had nothing to do with you.”

The other woman gave her a once over “By the way. Who are you?”

“The Mistress of Fire.”

The one eye Uhnie could see went wide “The Fireman’s protégé? What brings you to Zatuo?”

Uhnie put her knives away “Traveling with friends.”

“Oh…you should stop that before they get killed.”

“I won’t let that happen.”

The other woman sighed “We’re Shades. You know that is going to happen sooner or later.”

“Who are you?”

The other woman bowed “Blood Rose.”

Her list flashed through her head, Uhnie turned away causing Blood Rose to tilt her head “That’s it?”

“I have an assignment and you aren’t a part of it.” After a small pause she added “I am sorry for coming after you…I couldn’t be sure.”

Blood Rose shrugged “Part of the job…by the way, would you be interested in hearing about the other Shades that are on Zatuo?”

Uhnie faced the other woman again “Why would you tell me that?”

“You are the Fireman’s protégé right? If that’s the case you can probably take them out.”

“Do you a favor.”

Despite the mask, Uhnie knew the other woman was smiling. Deciding there was no harm in it, Uhnie spoke “Well, I have two Shades in training under me so to speak. This may help.”

“Alright then. One is Quick Foot.”

Uhnie couldn’t help but laugh “Perfect.”

“I take it you know him?”

“Well enough…he’s planning on selling around here?”

Blood Rose nodded “Most likely. I was planning on dropping by but I’ll let you take care of it.”

Uhnie rolled her eyes as the other woman continued “The other is Hell Rain.”

Blood Rose noted the shift in Uhnie’s eyes, “Yeah…don’t wanna mess with him right?”

“Is that all?”

“Yep. Just the two. As far as I know. Zatuo’s pretty big so information is expensive.”

After some internal thought, Uhnie decided to ask anyway.

“…Desert Dragon?”

Next thing Uhnie knew, Blood Rose was right next to her. No weapons drawn. She whispered in Uhnie’s ear.

_“You have to be a fucking moron saying that name out loud. If you aren’t afraid, cut the bravado bullshit, you should be…”_

Blood Rose turned and walked away, whispering _“…no…he’s not here.”_ With that the woman leapt off the roof and vanished.

Uhnie sighed before heading back to find Shinon and Gatrie waiting, the former speaking “Where did you go?”

Uhnie pulled down her mask “I have a target for the three of us?”

“Who?” Gatrie asked.

“The coward. Quick Foot.”

-

“Thanks Leek! Got all that I need!” Zihark stated, Leah walked up to them “Yes and sorry again for bumping you.”

Leek shook his head “No…no, don’t worry about that. I should’ve watched where I was going.”

“Yo! Soren! Mia! Ready to go?”

At Zihark’s call, Mia appeared “I wish, Soren’s being fussy, he doesn’t think anything looks good on him. Can you help?”

Zihark smirked and joined them.

After Zihark left, Leek looked to Leah, the Islander speaking “Seriously, thanks a lot.”

“No problem…you are all very…interesting.”

Leah chuckled “They get that a lot…so they say.”

Leek nodded “Well…I imagine you will all be fine with getting back?”

Leah thought for a moment “Actually, any inns close by?”

As Leek spoke Mia reappeared, joining the two with her clothes “Thanks a bunch Leek, who knows how long we could have been searching without you!”

He smiled at that “Don’t worry milady…happy to help.”

Mia laughed “Milady? Never heard that directed my way.”

Leek blushed “Oh! I apologize…old habits…”

“He told me about an inn close by, great place to stop and change before going out to see what’s about.” Leah commented.

Mia nodded as Leah asked “Did you help Soren pick out anything or was he just being…Soren?”

“I didn’t want to help him because I want to be surprised when I see him. I hid my clothes from him too.”

Leah laughed “Of course.”

“Well Leek, I imagine you’re busy. Thanks again. Truly.”

Leek bowed his head slightly “You’re welcome…I actually wouldn’t mind seeing you all again. Should it happen.”

Mia smiled “Well we are amazing at making friends. Right Leah?”

“Definitely.” The man stated, they bowed to Leek slightly, earning a smile from the man before he turned and walked away.

Zihark emerged from the shop, approaching the pair “I think he found something.”

“Good. Then we can be off!” Mia announced before sighing “It’s amazing how…normal this all is.”

Zihark nodded, Soren appearing and joining them. Leah looked around “It does seem very peaceful…then again…no, never mind.”

Soren raised an eyebrow “What?”

“Don’t want to jinx us. We’ll be fine, right?”

Mia and Zihark nodded to Leah.

Soren looked about “So, where are we staying today?”

Leah gestured for them to follow “Leek gave me some directions. Come on.”

* * *

Titania came to a stop in the middle of a road, she sighed. No use looking for Ike given how big the city is.

What could she tell him anyway? That Tyse Erent landed at this very dock four months ago? That before that the other two landed at a different dock? How much help could that really be?

_“Look at me here…am I trying to justify why I want to find him? Do I really want to talk to him about this?”_

She shook her head. She knew how important this could be, everyone knew but-

“Hello!”

Turning she spotted another woman with red hair falling down her back and a long black dress that was rather revealing “Is it my good twin I see?”

Titania chuckled “Depends on what you see as good. Have you seen a man with blue hair around? Two swords along his back?”

The other woman shook her head “Afraid not.”

Titania sighed before noticing the building behind the other woman had clothes on display. “Well, I actually was looking for a change for tonight.”

The woman turned around “Ah! This is my place.”

“Really? Well, would you mind lending your twin a hand?”

The woman laughed “Of course not. My name is Ufernia. Ufernia Astair.” The woman held out her hand, Titania took it “I’m Titania.”

As the pair entered Ufernia asked “So…what is the change for? Special date?”

Titania laughed at that “I don’t know.”

The other woman tilted her head “That’s an odd answer.”

“It is but it is also the truth…I have a plan to…”

Titania leaned in and whispered to Ufernia who smiled “I see! Well, then you need something to show off when the time comes!”

“Nothing too…much…”

“Is this too much?” Ufernia gestured to herself.

Titania nodded “Yes. Though it looks lovely on you, that I can’t deny.”

Ufernia laughed before giving Titania a once over “Would you mind losing the armor, it’s hard to tell exactly what I’m working with.”

Nodding Titania followed Ufernia “And don’t worry, I know exactly what you need in terms of look!”

* * *

“Thank you again Hyte.”

“Don’t mention it…though I do say you look rather odd just…walking about.”

Ike chuckled “Do you think so or Enri?”

“Not like that…you just look like you belong elsewhere…and are trying to get used to all this.”

“I have to admit it has been a while since I had an…easy time. I’ve been traveling and every time I came to a new land there was a problem. Not having a problem in any shape or form is very…odd.”

As the pair began walking again, Hyte shrugged “This place did have a problem. But it’s over…ended about a month ago.”

“Really? What was it?”

“One of the bigger dominions, the Benkanan Republic recently expanded, forcefully absorbing the Crown Land of Atro. Their attack came out of nowhere and was rather devastating…”

Ike raised an eyebrow “Anyone…do anything about it?”

Hyte sighed “A group tried to rebel under the banner of a renowned prince and his advisor but Benkanan had a devastating ace under their sleeve. The rebels were practically wiped out…most were killed or captured. Very few escaped alive…once everyone became aware of Benkanan’s elite forces they decided to leave Atro to them…the only state capable of fighting back is Qeen but since then Benkanan has been silent so…”

Ike scratched his chin “Absolutely silent?”

“Yes. Not a peep from Oberez Wetka at all...though after the expansion he now goes by King Wetka. A dear friend of mine…I’m sorry, I shouldn’t say anymore.”

Ike brushed it off “If you shouldn’t, don’t. Thanks for the short history lesson though…I’m sure it’ll come up again if it was as meaningful as it sounds.”

Hyte shrugged “Maybe, maybe not…I just find it odd. Why? But I’m probably just boring you with the questions about something you don’t fully understand.”

“Believe me, I’ve been dragged into many conflicts without fully understanding them…but for once…just maybe, we can live like people.”

Hyte smiled “That would be the dream. Well, I suppose you have to prepare for your not-date.”

Ike sighed “You really shouldn’t be acting so familiar with me in regards to this!”

The other man laughed “It’s hard not to be! You tell me you are spending the night with a woman you’ve known for years at her behest and it isn’t a date? Forget where you are from, why you have those swords or whatever it is you’ve done.  
THAT is the really odd thing.”

Ike shook his head and continued walking, Hyte calling out from behind him “Good luck!”

* * *

“Thanks for calling us over!”

“Hey don’t mention it, we love meeting new people!”

“Cheers to that!”

Boyd continued laughing loudly as he slammed his mug against another man’s, Mist sighing next to him.

Their group including Ranulf, Rolf and Oscar came across the Leer siblings: Atzu and Ewata while looking for a place to eat. Ewata insisted he cook for them on an open fire as a gesture of companionship from his hometown: Kerseez.

The group decided there was no harm in it and the polite Atzu along with her louder brother Ewata proved to be kind people.

Oscar looked to the younger sister “So Atzu, what is it like living here? Seems peaceful.”

Atzu, a young woman with long blue hair smiled “Oh it is. At the edge of Zatuo this place is just so quiet. Comforting from some of the ruckus elsewhere.”

“What kind of ruckus?” Ranulf asked.

“Doesn’t really matter man, it ain’t here!” Ewata the older man with dirty blonde hair next to Boyd called out.

“Well Ewata, don’t mind us. We have a habit of attracting trouble.” Rolf commented.

Ewata smirked “Well Atzu and I are as much trouble as any boisterous siblings can be.”

“You don’t look the part.” Ranulf said to Atzu who smiled “Oh I just don’t let my wild side show when I’m with good company.”

“I do!” Ewata yelled out, downing another drink before gesturing to Boyd and Mist “So where ya’ll headin?”

Mist tapped her chin “Nowhere really. We’re just taking in the sights. This place is nice.”

Ewata looked around “It is…lots of business run by nice people. Great food, of course you don’t need to go to a restaurant for it!”

The man gestured to the fire he made as Ranulf took another skewer “Don’t mind if I do!”

Atzu smiled “You eat more than most men I know twice your size.”

Ranulf, mouth full, responded “I’m a Laguz. It’s kind of genetic.” He gestured to his ears and tail.

“That’s crazy, man.” Ewata called out before laughing. “Can’t imagine what it’s like coming to a new land with nothing to do but enjoy it!”

“Well we are looking for some people.” Oscar commented.

Ranulf nodded “Our leader told us to take it easy but it’s hard to ignore it.”

Ewata and Atzu looked at each other the man asking “Who?”

“Three men. All we know are their names. Tyse Erent, Zijo Oit and Norad Jyuugo.”

Atzu tilted her head “I’m afraid none of those names ring any of the proverbial bells.”

“Sorry.” Ewata deadpanned.

Mist shook her head “That’s fine. We know finding them won’t be easy.”

“Why are you looking for them?” Atzu asked.

The Mercenaries all looked to each other Oscar speaking “We’re hoping the one called Tyse Erent can help fill in some blanks for us. He may even know where the other two are.”

“Really? Well that all sounds awfully important.”

Rolf nodded to Ewata “It is…hopefully we can figure it out.”

“Seeing all of you, I’m sure you can handle a little hide and seek. Granted Zatuo isn’t small but…we’ll wish you the best.”

The Mercenaries nodded as Ewata gestured to the food “Well, enough of that! Enjoy yourselves!”

Thanking him again the Mercenaries returned to eating and spent most of the afternoon sitting and talking with the Leer siblings, a delight with no dark clouds overhead.

* * *

_The Tow Union_

_Shining City, Bryte_

“I see…so everything is ready?”

Oit shrugged “Maybe. Maybe not…what about you Jyuugo. What are you doing while I’m playing the orchestra?”

Jyuugo narrowed his eyes “I don’t know.”

“Really? When we get back to his Lordship he is going to be very disappointed in you.”

Jyuugo rolled his eyes as he walked away, Oit continuing “He always said that you, Norad Jyuugo would be his greatest aid, at his side when the time came and all set for the Blank Slate or whatever.”

“And I will be there…regardless of how I perform here.”

Oit laughed at that “Really? What do you have to show him when we get back eh?”

Jyuugo came to a stop “What does the game you are playing here do for our Lord, Zijo Oit?”

Oit gestured to his weapon “He can make due with these.”

Jyuugo pulled out three blood vials “And these.”

Walking away, Zijo Oit scoffed “From the brute, the snake and the coward? What use will he have with those?”

“This was our initial mission. Erent and Kruse understood it as well, you never aided us with this.”

“Because I knew that having things that could actually kill like magic weapons and lances was far more effective than liquid.”

Jyuugo put the vials away “You think our Lord’s order a joke?”

“I’d never!” Oit then started laughing “But I’ll show him better results than a few vials of blood. You’ll see.”

The pair stopped both looking out over the city. Oit smirked “Everyone will see.”


	35. Night One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soren and Mia; Uhnie, Shinon and Gatrie; and Ike and Titania all go out for the night...how will these dates go?

** Chapter 34 - Night One **

_The Free Nation of Wan_

_Coast City, Nevrez_

Night fell on the city, Soren stood in front of a mirror replaying what Zihark and Leah said.

_Zihark: Don’t be so nervous Soren! You love her right? She loves you. Just go with the flow, hold her hand and give her a kiss here and there._

_Leah: I’m not gonna pretend like I have experience with this…but you two just…work. Don’t worry too much.”_

Soren sighed, they were right.

Exiting his room he made his way to hers. He wore a white dress shirt, he elected to go without a vest. Too fancy and he felt constricted enough regarding his nerves. Looking down at his shoes he noted how shiny they were as well as his pants.

_“This feels like too much…”_

Shaking his head he knocked on her door _“Stop thinking so much just-“_

Mia opened the door and sure enough, Soren stopped thinking.

“Hey Soren, you look great!”

She smiled, practically completing her ensemble. She wore a long orange dress, the long tail of it coming around her legs and behind her. As she moved to stand over next to him he noted her exposed back. Instead of bad memories he was just happy to see how unmarred it was.

“You look beautiful.”

Mia blushed at that “I really like and hate that you’re so honest.”

“Sorry.”

Giggling she gestured for him to start walking “Nothing to apologize for at all!”

As they walked outside, Soren couldn’t help but smile “I’m really happy…I don’t know what we’re going to do but…I’m just happy to be here.”

“So am I…sometimes I worry that this is all some dream.”

As they walked through the city ready for a calm night, another group was prepared for something quite…different.

On a roof nearby the Mistress of Fire stood “Ready?”

Deadeye emerged from behind her, cloaked in a black robe with a dark red strap around his chest connecting to the quiver behind him, all the arrows were of the same dark red shade. In a sheath attached to his leg was his bow, his lower face was covered by a long mask while he wore a hat on top, casting a shadow over his eyes.

“Blue Wall?”

“I told him to wait ahead.”

“Right…make sure he knows where he is going.”

“He’ll be fine Mistress.”

Smirking at that she gestured for him to follow and leapt from one roof to the other.

“So how do you know Quick Foot is here?”

The Mistress looked back “I was told.”

“Another Shade?”

“Yeah. Not one to worry about unless she decides to turn her weapon against us.”

“She?”

“Yep.”

“…what did she look like?”

The Mistress glared at him “We aren’t doing this here.”

“Right. Right.”

Looking back ahead she continued “Anyway, as I said, she doesn’t seem to want anything to do with us so we’re cool. In regards to Quick Foot, I know how he is waiting with a guard unit outside of town…possibly auctioning some of his stolen prizes.”

“Your blade?”

Mistress nodded “Most likely. I’m going to take it back and kill him with it.”

Leaping off a roof the pair landed near another man “Woah U-“

Turning the Mistress of Fire glared at him “I mean…Mistress, Deadeye. Hey…”

Deadeye just waved at him. Blue Wall wore a long blue robe over his chest plate and guards which were on top of his leather armor. He carried a spear across his back and a small round shield in his robe.

The three were at the edge of the next town, there were a few empty storage facilities nearby that matched the types of areas Quick Foot regularly set up shop in. Mistress went around during the day scoping out the places and knew if he was nearby these places were where he would go.

Signaling them she moved with the two close behind her.

* * *

“Hey Ike…goin out?”

Ike looked to Ranulf “Basically…I owe Titania after that spar I lost back in Hitenticul.”

The Laguz nodded “So what is she having you do?”

Ike shrugged “I don’t know. She assured me not to worry about it but then she says things that make me worry…then she says again that it isn’t anything crazy.”

Ranulf laughed “Sounds like fun.”

“Joyous fun. How did the day go for you, Ranulf?”

The cat crossed his arms “Boyd, Mist, Oscar, Rolf and I met some locals, Atzu and Ewata Leer. We cooked out with them, talked about this city and some Zatuo places they suggested we visit. Was nice. You?”

“Met with a big guy named Hyte Comdoe, also told me a bit about Zatuo and helped me find a place to get this.” Ike gestured to his simple blue button up shirt.

Ranulf chuckled “You needed help to find that?”

“Well, she said it was nothing fancy…and this is comfortable.”

“Whatever you say…we did ask the siblings about the guys.”

“Did you?”

“Yeah just decided to give it the first try…we got nothing but it was worth the attempt.”

Ike sighed “Well, it wasn’t going to be easy.”

“None of us thought so.” Putting a hand on Ike’s shoulder, Ranulf smirked “Well, have fun…or not…whatever it turns out being.” The pair waved to each other as Ike went over to Titania’s room. He knocked “All set, you?”

Turning from the door, Ike crossed his arms, still worried. Door opening, Titania came out “Ready, shall we?”

Ike looked to her “Yeah we-“

Words failed him as he looked at Titania in her red dress, a large sash tied around her waist to a bright blue gem of sorts on the side. She had long sleeves coming up from her hands to her elbows with a transparent cloth flaring out from the ends. Pass the sash, her dress came out to a tail in front and one in back over her black leggings leading to her heels. The dress had a jagged cut beneath her neck, not too low but if it did emphasize anything, it did so in the best ways. Her hair was kept relatively the same but it seemed to fall more delicately around her face.

“Ike?”

“Hm?”

“You alright?”

Ike nodded “No…yes…no? Maybe?”

“Come now, you aren’t faking sickness to get out of this.” Titania walked by him, the man following “You uh…you look…good.”

“Thank you…I had help. I don’t think I would have picked this on my own but she made it seem like a…good idea.”

“Well you look amazing.”

Titania chuckled “Good or amazing?”

“Incredible.”

Facing him, she raised an eyebrow while still smiling “You done?”

“I think so.” Ike cleared his throat “Sorry.”

Exiting the inn they began walking down the road, Titania looking at the shops and areas they passed for one thing specifically while Ike just watched, her.

“Hm…where was it again…”

Talking with Ufernia, Titania was able to pinpoint the kind of place she was hoping to find, she committed the directions to memory but everything being so new, she may as well pass right by it.

“Ike if you see anything like-“

Noting him she tilted her head “Ike?”

“Huh?”

After a bit of deliberation she asked, very lowly…and maybe a little shyly “Were you…staring?”

“What? No! No…I was not…no.”

Clearing his throat he looked away. “It’s just…all the time I spend with you I’ve never seen you quite…like that.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know how to say it! Just…like that…”

Titania looked away as he fell silent. _“Focus Titania. Stop acting like a preteen. You can do this.”_

Taking a deep breath, she centered herself as they approached their destination “Here we are!”

“A…tavern?”

“Oh trust me, according to Ufernia this is a really nice place. Just good times for everyone around and you can do for me what I want here.”

“Ufernia?”

“Someone I met, helped me pick my outfit out and told me about this place.

As they entered, Ike noted the many happy people, eating, drinking, talking and dancing.

“So…what are we here for?”

“Well, maybe we can enjoy some of their servings. I got some recommendations and then.”

“Then?”

She gestured to the dance floor, Ike shook his head “Oh no…no, no, no. I can’t.”

“I seem to recall winning a bet.”

Ike sighed “Alright. Alright. What have I gotten myself into?”

“Wouldn’t have happened if you didn’t lose the bet.”

* * *

Soren and Mia took a whole new look at Nevrez. With the night sky above and the lights everywhere it was like a completely different place.

“Mia…if you don’t mind me asking. What do we do on dates?”

She smiled at him “We just enjoy the fact that we’re alone. As much as I love Z and Leah I can’t think of anything better than being with you.”

He returned her smile “Well I do love being with you.”

As they continued Mia sighed “I probably should have asked Leek for a nice diner or something.”

“I’m sure we’ll find a place well enough.”

Soren tried to think ahead, he had something prepared. Something he was working on since the last few days in Heogettr. But would that be something as special as this? For a first date?

The pair came to a sudden stop as someone emerged from an alley, the woman practically yelled as she turned to see them.

“You alright?” Soren and Mia asked in unison.

The woman held her chest and took a deep breath before smiling “Yeah, yeah. I’m fine…just lost in thought and WHAM! Reality! My bad!”

Soren shook his head “Don’t worry about it…it’s become kind of a normal occurrence for us.”

She nodded “Well, pardon me I-“

“Actually. Do you know a nice place we can go to eat? We’re on our first date.”

The woman looked between the two of them, noting their clothes and their arms “Oh. OH! Well that’s wonderful! New love!”

She clapped lightly for them, Soren taking her visage in. She was dressed in many white robes with orange sun-like designs along the arms and legs. The woman was probably some sort of healer or saint. Though he never knew a woman of the people to wear such a top, cutting down from her neck to her stomach area, greatly exposing her chest. She also wore a scarf around her neck that fell behind her along with her long blonde hair.

Red eyes opening again she gestured for the pair to follow “My name is Cadeera Ien. I may not be from around here but I know a few places. You?”

“Mia and we aren’t from around here either. This is actually our first night in Nevrez.”

“Soren…and its more like our first night in Zatuo.”

Cadeera faced them again “Oh! You two came on a ship today? Where are you from? Hitenticul? We get quite a few from there but more often than not we get A LOT of travelers from Ymarkteg, specifically Anondye, those people love moving about. Sometimes people from M-“

“We came on a ship from Hitenticul but we’re actually from Tellius.”

Following Soren’s statement Cadeera who had turned away during her explanation looked back at the pair “Uh…where?”

“Tellius.” Mia stated “It gets farther every land we visit but it does exist.”

Cadeera crossed her arms “Hm. Fantastic. Well I have something new to share with my boyfriend it seems. This world has been getting so much bigger and brighter as of late.”

“It has.” Soren commented as the group came to a stop at a crossroad. Cadeera looked left and right before turning to the couple “So…any…preferences?”

They shook their heads, Mia speaking “We’re fine with whatever.”

“Just want to spend time together eh?” Mia nodded, prompting Cadeera to smile “Well that is _wonderful!_ Pure love! On we go then!”

“You sure this isn’t too much trouble for you?” Soren asked.

Cadeera just laughed and waved him off “Too much trouble? I’m helping young love! There should always be time for that!”

“Well you did look like you were in the middle of something before-“

Cutting Mia off, Cadeera spoke “Oh don’t worry about it, just somethin for the sour boyfriend but he can wait a lil longer! You two are far more pressing!”

“If you say so.” Soren and Mia stated in unison as Cadeera faced them and flashed a smile “Oh I insist!”

* * *

_The Free Nation of Wan_

_Commerce Center, Tekit - Outskirts_

Kneeling in the shadows, the Mistress of Fire couldn’t help but smirk, a warehouse close by looked innocent enough except for the three men on the roof and two by the main door.

“Found him.”

She turned to Deadeye who quickly scaled the old building near them as Blue Wall came up “So…what do I do?”

“See that?” She pointed to the building as one of the men on the roof took an arrow to the head and fell over.

“Yeah?”

“Go around behind the building and find a way in. We’ll be there soon.”

Blue Wall started approaching carefully “What about the two in the front?”

Pulling out a knife the Mistress gestured “We’ll handle them. Go.”

As he started moving he asked “When I get there…what then?”

Mistress eyed him, another guard clutching his neck before falling over dead “Jump in when we start making noise.”

As Blue Wall left, Mistress dusted herself off and shot through the space, the two guards barely noticing anything as she came to the other side of the building hearing the last guard on the roof fall over.

Calling out “Hey.” She waited for the man to get near and swung out, tripping him. As he fell over the other prepared to speak only for a bolt to sink into his neck. Slicing the other guard’s throat open she noted Deadeye landing near her.

“You’re aim is flawless as ever.”

“I landed you, y’know.”

Chuckling at that she gestured, the pair began scaling the building with her stating “Not quite yet.”

“Almost.”

As the pair landed on the roof amidst the three dead bodies, The Mistress turned around quickly. Deadeye followed her eyes, scanning the horizon “What?”

“…let’s be quick and efficient about this…just in case.”

Deadeye nodded “Right.”

* * *

_The Free Nation of Wan_

_Coast City, Nevrez – Bryte Tavern_

As Ike and Titania sat down, a big man approached “Newcomers! Welcome to the Bryte Tavern, bringing the tastes of the Shining City, to you! I’m the owner, Cho Ken!”

Titania nodded to him “Greetings Ken, this place came highly recommended.”

Ken laughed “Of course it did! I wish Fyst could hear every time someone said that!”

“Fyst?”

Ken nodded to Ike “Yes. He owns the so called original location in Bryte, he entrusted this one to me and has a habit of taking the piss out of me, but I’ve been doing well.”

“Looks like it.” Titania commented.

“Well, I can get you menus or go with the crowd favorites.”

Titania looked to Ike who just shrugged “Favorites I supposed. The best for a reason right?”

Ken snapped his fingers “Indeed! I’ll prepare them and be back soon!”

After he left Ike sat back, this place was nice. He noted the dance floor and suddenly felt nervous.

Titania swallowed, as she watched Ike she felt pain in her chest and the conflict in her mind all over again.

Ike looked at her and tilted his head “You okay?”

“Yes! I mean…yes.”

Ken returned and put down two mugs in front of them before leaving.

As Ike gave it a try he nodded “Not bad.”

“Y’know Ike. If you really wanted to…you could just leave.”

Ike put his drink down “What?”

Titania shrugged “If you really don’t want to do this, you don’t have to…I just thought…”

Ike eyed the dance floor again before looking to the woman before him, noting how…sad…she seemed.

Ike smiled “Hey.”

She looked up at him as he continued “I won’t be leaving. As much as I would rather not dance. It is only fair that I go through with this.”

He couldn’t help but smile as Titania’s face brightened “Thank you, Ike.”

“Just a hero doing another deed.”

Ken returned with plates of steaming food, and bowed “Enjoy.”

As he walked away Ike chuckled “Seems every stranger we’ve met in this city has been extremely nice.”

Titania nodded “Indeed. Gives me hope…though…”

She recalled what Enri mentioned, possibly about the three men they were after. Shaking her head she decided to leave it for another time.

Eyes finding Ike the man was eating very ravenously “Did you not have anything all day?”

“Nope.”

She laughed, shaking her head as she cut herself a piece of the meat.

* * *

_The Free Nation of Wan_

_Coast City, Nevrez – The Fourth Island_

“Here we are! The Fourth Island!”

Soren and Mia titled their heads as Cadeera faced them “Run by a self-taught chef from Hitenticul named Iteo Yajhni he combines the flavors of his home with the flavors of Zatuo. It’s quite the treat and I sincerely hope you two enjoy!”

“Thank you Cadeera.” Mia stated “You were a big help, and good conversation.”

She waved it off “Oh no I’m not. Often too many people tell me that I have a habit of talking with no end I mean can you believe them? I mean, telling a woman of _my stature_ to be quiet? They have no respect, sometimes even my boyfriend gets testy though he has the most _interesting_ ways of getting me to stop.”

“I uh…don’t think we have to know that, Cadeera.”

She looked to Soren and ran her sentence through her mind again, blushing “OH! I’m so SO sorry. Boundaries. Boundaries.”

Mia laughed as she approached the place “Soren?”

“One second.”

He gestured for an aside with Cadeera “Do you think…a gift on the first date is…odd?”

Cadeera tilted her head “No…I don’t think so…but it really depends on how and when you two got together. How things were before you did…ultimately I think it would be perfectly acceptable in this case. Go for it.”

“Thank you, Cadeera.”

As he walked away she waved at the pair “Have fun!”

“What was that about?” Mia asked as Soren joined her, the pair entering and being led to a seat by a waiter.

“Just looking for advice.”

“On what?”

“I’d rather it be a surprise.”

She smiled at that “Alright…and if you just wanted to stare, that’s fine.”

“What?”

Mia gestured “You saw what she was wearing. Or rather, what she wasn’t wearing.”

“Mia I-“

The woman laughed “I’m just joking Soren.”

The sage sighed “I don’t think I’ll get used to this part of it.”

“Sure you will!”

Mia leaned across the table and kissed him.

* * *

_The Free Nation of Wan_

_Commerce Center, Tekit - Outskirts_

“What’s this?”

“That my dear friend is a Dust Bomb!”

The man raised an eyebrow “Really? A legitimate one?”

“Nothing here is fake, I can assure you.” The smaller man in a gray cloak stated.

“But Dust Man has been dead for ages!”

“And I still have a few of his Dust Bombs…not to mention for some more gold I can manufacture more…I’ve studied them well enough to do so. Though I will add that this one is indeed genuine.”

The man crossed his arms “I’ll think on it...but you may very well have a sale here Quick Foot.”

The Shade smirked as another man called out “This is a nice blade!”

Quick Foot approached him “This is one of my most prized finds.”

“Whose is it?”

“This is none other than Scarlet, the blood red blade of the Mistress of Fire.”

The man, and several more who were standing nearby approached “You took that from her!?”

“The Fireman trained her!”

“How!?”

Quick Foot laughed, a very nasally, ugly laugh “The story is quite hilarious. You see-“

Landing in front of him the Mistress, kicked him in the chin, throwing him across the ground before screaming “I’m going to fucking kill you!”

The would-be buyers began scattering as the guards drew their blades and charged her.

An arrow sunk into one of the men’s eye. The body fell allowing the Mistress to leap over the other charging soldiers.

Quick Foot stood “Y-you!”

Landing near him she couldn’t fight off the rage “You are going to regret stealing from me.”

Screaming Quick Foot took off as several men fell around the Mistress of Fire who began deflecting their blades with her knives. Every so often an arrow would find its mark, forcing a guard to turn and try to find who did it, opening himself to another arrow.

“This is the best protection you could buy!? It won’t stop me!” Bringing her leg up, she kicked a man in the groin. As he fell over she spun around and kicked a blade away before back flipping from the guards. They pursued her one taking an arrow in the chest then another in the skull.

Hearing the woman calling for his head Quick Foot swallowed “I evaded her once before. I’ll do it again!” Turning a corner he headed for the back door as it burst open. Blue Wall charged in and slammed against the Shade, throwing him across the ground.

“The screaming and people running away is my signal…right?”

* * *

_The Free Nation of Wan_

_Coast City, Nevrez – Bryte Tavern_

Titania sat still, trying to word her question. Eyes finding Ike, she prepared to ask only for the words to die on her tongue. He did say he wouldn’t leave but…

Letting out a heavy sigh Ike stood and approached her, holding his hand out.

She looked at it then to him “Ike?”

“This was the deal right?”

She nodded “It was.”

“Shall we?”

For many reasons Titania fought with herself at that very moment before finally taking Ike’s hand and allowing him to help her up.

As they joined several other couples on the dance floor, Ike turned to face her “So…how do I…?”

Titania laughed before gesturing to a couple nearby. Holding one of Ike’s hands up with hers. Ike put his other hand on her hip, she came closer to him and smiled “Like this.”

As they started moving with the rest of the couples he nodded “Like this…?”

“Yes. You’re doing fine.”

“Heh…I was worried it’d be something a bit more…involved.”

As they continued swaying and rotating slowly, Titania shrugged “It’s a slow song. It’s supposed to be romantic.”

Ike nodded “That makes sense…”

_“Wait…romantic?”_

_“Shit, why did I say that.”_

The pair remained silent as the dance continued, Ike finally letting out “You really do look beautiful…”

She felt her cheeks burn, she tried to ignore it and push it away. _“Blushing Titania? Really?”_

Getting herself on track again she spoke “Thank you…”

“I mean…not just now. It’s really obvious now. But…you always are, I just…never really…bothered to think about it…”

Titania felt the burn again as she spoke “I think that would be the…normal thing…”

Ike looked past Titania to several other people sitting around “Quite a few men don’t think so.”

She shook her head, moving closer to Ike “I don’t care about anyone else right now.”

Ike’s eyes found hers again, he suddenly found himself struggling to swallow.

* * *

_The Free Nation of Wan_

_Coast City, Nevrez – The Fourth Island_

“So…you like fish?”

Soren shrugged “I really liked the Trick Swimmer back in Hitenticul…this plate had some in it so…”

She smiled “That’s fine.”

As they continued eating she noted something in Soren’s eyes “What’s wrong?”

“…this would be the part where we…get to know each other, right?”

Mia tapped her chin “Well…we know a lot about each other already. I’m not sure what-“

“Not just that. I mean, I don’t really have anything to share. I told you how I grew up in Gallia, beyond my time as a Mercenary and all our interactions since I met you there just…there isn’t anything else to me.”

Mia shook her head “There is a lot to you Soren.”

“But you’ve been at my side for most of it. I’m pretty sure there is nothing else about me you don’t know.”

“Maybe not…”

As Soren took another bite, Mia snapped her fingers “Remember when you asked what I went to see Rae for?”

“Yeah?”

“Well…I was talking to her about you. She kind of figured out how I felt about you after I mentioned you to her for the first time. She’s always been able to read me.”

Soren smiled at that “She sounds like she became your big sister.”

“In many ways she did.”

Soren shook his head “It’s amazing…and maybe even a little tragic how we have almost no real blood to talk to or introduce each other to…”

Mia found his eyes, he was right. Her parents were gone, as was Soren’s father and neither had any siblings.

“We’re all that’s left of our bloodlines. If we never got together…would that be where it all ended?”

Mia crossed her arms “That’s kind of dark to think about…”

Soren apologized, Mia waving her hand “Its fine. But your mother, Almedha is still alive right?”

“She is…I did talk to her a bit back on Hitenticul. I kind of mentioned you briefly as well…sorry about not asking but I felt she should at least know that.”

Mia nodded “Is she…alright with it?”

“She doesn’t see it right to have any sort of opinion on anything I do since she didn’t really raise me…but I think she is happy for me.”

“That’s good…do you think I could…talk to her?”

Soren thought of the Sending Stone in his room before nodding “Of course you can. She is the only blood family either of us really has.”

“Though the Mercenaries are closer family for us than anything else.”

Soren smiled at that “Indeed they are…speaking of the Sending Stone it completely slipped my mind but Micaiah was really happy to hear about us and she returns your greetings.”

“That’s great! I’d love to talk to her as well, see how she, Sothe and Daein in general are doing.”

“Last I checked Lytros was visiting her and that country along with Elincia. What we did in Thyremog is…changing everything back there.”

Mia let out a heavy sigh “I can’t imagine how different the world is going to be once we’re all connected…”

“You know what I just realized.”

Mia gave Soren an odd look “For the longest time we believed Tellius was all that was left on this world, that should you go out anywhere you’d just wind up back there…we left from Crimea, headed west and found Thyremog then we headed northwest to Hitenticul and finally northeast to Zatuo. If we kept heading west at a different angle we could have missed Thyremog and wound up back at Tellius. Seeing nothing.”

Mia looked up as she thought this over “That’s a weird thought to have.”

“I know…but I can’t help but think about things like that. Realistically speaking we are closer to Tellius now than we were on Hitenticul. Or maybe if we headed west from Hitenticul we could’ve arrived back home…the world is much harder to think about now that we have a better idea of how big it is.”

He looked to Mia before shaking his head “I’m probably boring you.”

“No. No. It is truly interesting to think of it like that. I mean, why was Tellius so secluded? Thyremog knew of Hitenticul, Hitenticul knows of Thyremog and Zatuo and Zatuo knows of Hitenticul and this new land…what was it Cadeera said?”

“Ymarkteg.”

Mia sat back down, not realizing she was standing “It’s all so fascinating! How did it happen?”

“We may never know.” Soren stated, taking another bite.

She couldn’t help but laugh “This is how your mind works? You just…think about these kinds of hypotheticals?”

“All the time…”

“Well it is very interesting. I never really give much thought to the what-ifs but they are so very…intriguing.”

* * *

_The Free Nation of Wan_

_Commerce Center, Tekit - Outskirts_

Flipping in the air, the Mistress wrapped her legs around a man’s face and twisted, snapping his neck before jumping away. Deadeye landed near her, firing an arrow right into another man’s chest.

Mistress noted Blue Wall dodging Quick Foot’s knife before shoulder bashing the man away, knife scraping against the man’s chest plate.

“Hey I just got this!” the Shade-in-training yelled. Cursing Quick Foot kicked off several walls and headed for Blue Wall who reached into his coat and armed his small round shield, using it he blocked a knife strike as the Shade flipped over and landed behind him. Swinging around, Blue Wall struck Quick Foot’s arm with his shield.

Cursing again the Shade jumped away only for Blue Wall to run him down and slam into him with the shield, hitting the ground the Shade yelled again before rolling to his feet “Mistress! I’m sorry! Take your sword back, leave me be!”

“Fuck no!” She yelled out, snapping her fingers. Blue Wall grabbed Scarlet and threw it over, Mistress caught it and spun the blade around “Good to have you back.”

She started approaching Quick Foot, Deadeye and Blue Wall blocking his other sides.

“Mistress! Please!”

“Shut up and die with dignity.”

Taking out a ball he threw it, a massive dust cloud exploded, covering the room, Mistress cursed “We can’t let him get away! Deadeye!”

“On it!” Deadeye yelled shooting at a wall and scaling up and above the dust cloud before finding his way to the roof “Blue Wall! A few paces behind us and to the right there is a door that just closed! Go!”

Nodding the man charged in that direction, smashing through the door followed by Mistress who heard Deadeye call out “He’s headed south!”

“Shoot him in the leg to stop him if you have to! He’s not getting away!”

The three took off in pursuit of the man.

* * *

_The Free Nation of Wan_

_Coast City, Nevrez – Bryte Tavern_

Still swaying together, Titania took an internal breath. As she prepared to speak the pace of the music sped up allowing a much faster and more jovial tune to set in. The couples around them all reacted and adapted to the new tune, it was louder as they cheered happily.

Ike observed a few of them for a bit as Titania spoke “Well…it was only one dance. Thank you, Ike.”

He faced her and smirked, before spinning her away and bringing her back into him, she watched him wide eyed as he spoke “We’re here, might as well do one more.”

“You sure?”

He smiled and nodded “Why not?”

She couldn’t help but smile back as the pair began moving quickly in sync with several of the couples nearby. Ike spinning around Titania several times to and away from him. The pair stepping around each other and miraculously not stepping on the other’s toes.

Spinning her around, her back was now against his chest, the pace of the music dipping down again. So close to her neck, Ike felt himself swallowing again “Titania?”

“…yes?”

He shook his head “Never mind…I’m just…glad we came here.”

“…really?”

“What can I say? I’ve never had the time for little things such as this…I’ve been missing out.”

“You have.”

“And you really seem to be enjoying yourself.”

The woman couldn’t help but smile wider as she nodded “I am.”

Pace picking up, Titania took the lead this time, moving away from Ike, falling back into the steps she spun him around a few times, the pair laughing with each other as they continued.

As the song came to its climax Ike pulled Titania in and leaned her over, looking directly into her eyes, hearts hammering in their chests they each started to say something only for cheering to break out. Ike looked around to see that the area around them was pretty clear apparently their dance was so interesting and expressive everyone moved aside to watch them.

As Ike brought Titania back up the pair bowed to the people.

* * *

_The Free Nation of Wan_

_Coast City, Nevrez – The Fourth Island_

“I truly hope you two enjoyed the meal.”

“Iteo Yajhni, right?”

The man nodded to Soren “Indeed. I noticed you two are brand new, sorry for not greeting you earlier, I’ve been busy.”

Mia looked past him “Indeed. You’ve done well for yourself.”

He smiled “Oh I know, I enjoy every second of it.”

“That much is clear and to answer your question, everything was delicious.” Soren stated, Mia nodding “It was amazing.”

Iteo bowed “Thank you. Feel free to return or tell others about this place, it always brings a smile to my face to see new people enjoying the Fourth Island.”

Soren and Mia stood and bowed to the man.

Exiting the place, Mia let out a relieved sigh “I think I ate too much.”

“Something tells me you’ll still be up at dawn.”

“…probably.”

The whole way back to the inn Soren thought about what he had on him and what Cadeera said. He kept bouncing back and forth between good idea and terrible idea before realizing they made it back to their inn.

Clearing his throat he faced her “By the way, Mia. I made something for you.”

“Really?”

“I’ve been working on it for quite a while, Wyre helped too so he does deserve some credit.”

She gave him an odd look “Is this why it took you so long to leave the inn back in Heogettr?”

“I was in the middle of a passage so I couldn’t stop…here.”

She watched as the man held out a tome “This is Spark.”

“You…made me a tome?”

He nodded “To help you along with your magic studies.”

A wide smile grew on her face as she took it from him before embracing the sage “Thank you!”

“You…like it?”

“Of course! I feel like I can absolutely master magic now! Well, at least the beginner levels. I was actually losing faith on the ship ride over here when I could barely summon some smoke.”

Soren chuckled “I remember that.”

“Thank you Soren. Really.”

Leaning in she kissed him, pulling away after a few seconds Soren spoke “Can you…imagine…”

She smiled “One last hypothetical?”

His eyes found hers “Can you imagine…what I would be like. What we would be like…if we met, earlier.”

Mia tilted her head “If I had met you…when I was living alone. How different this all would have been…how much of a better or more open person I would have been because of you.”

“I’m sure that…no matter when we met, or who you were…I’d still find a way to fall in love with you.”

Soren smiled at that “You really believe so?”

“I do…” Embracing him she whispered “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Separating there the couple entered their rooms, casting one last look to each other before closing the doors.

* * *

_The Free Nation of Wan_

_Commerce Center, Tekit - Outskirts_

“That stupid bitch! Who knows how much merchandise I lost in that location!? Damn it!”

Stomping his foot he approached the spot where his second line of guards would be waiting just as an arrow cut into his leg. He fell to the ground “No! No! Hey! I’m paying all of you right!? Help!”

Deadeye landed near him, Quick Foot looked up at the dark archer unable to make out the man’s eyes he asked “Are you a new Shade?”

“In training.”

Mistress and Blue Wall appeared, with the latter stating “Nice shot.”

Deadeye looked to the arrow then to Blue Wall “I-“

“Quick Foot…looks like your money won’t save you this time.”

“I have a whole platoon waiting in the trees! You won’t escape!”

Mistress gestured at Deadeye and Blue Wall who headed for the trees as she kneeled down near Quick Foot, pulling out Scarlet.

Pulling down her face mask she smiled “Thank you for returning this.” She kissed her blade before lowering it to the man’s throat, cutting him off as he started pleading.

“Uh…Mistress…”

Stepping away from the corpse she covered her mouth again “They all dead?”

Deadeye nodded, Blue Wall following him shortly “We didn’t do it.”

“What?”

“They were all shot by arrows. Not me…and while I’m being truthful the arrow that brought down Quick Foot wasn’t mine.”

Mistress looked to the dead Shade’s leg. As Shinon prepared to say something she turned to him quickly and he saw fear in her eyes.

“Shit! Run!” Deadeye yelled as an arrow sunk into his chest he took a step back and looked in the direction it came from as another struck his chest. As he fell another arrow sunk into Mistress’ arm throwing her to the ground as well.

Blue Wall cursed bringing up his shield to block another. Casting a glance to Deadeye then to Mistress before focusing on the silence around him.

* * *

_The Free Nation of Wan_

_Coast City, Nevrez_

Leaving the Bryte Tavern, it was very late and very cold. Ike pulled out his cape and put it around Titania. The woman couldn’t help but let out a small laugh as she asked “You carry that around?”

“You never know.” He stated with a chuckle.

“Well…thank you for it…”

As they continued walking she took a deep breath “…and Ike…thank you for coming out with me. You didn’t have to but…I really appreciate it.”

Ike smiled “I lost the bet and honestly…it was fun.”

She blushed “It was…it was…”

As they continued walking, Titania gripped the cape around her tighter “Ike.”

“Yeah?”

Swallowed she continued “This meant…a lot to me.”

Ike smiled “I kinda got that…you were really enjoying yourself the whole night. It was great to see you this expressive.”

Another smile appeared on her face before she spoke “It was all thanks to you.”

“Me?”

“Yes…I’ve…the…the bet was just an excuse.”

As he remained silent she continued “I didn’t think I could just…ask…to spend the night, with you.”

He laughed at that “Why not? You can ask me anything Titania, you know that.”

The pair came to a stop outside their inn when she suddenly turned and faced him, Ike realizing how close she was as she almost whispered “Can I?”

“….yes…of course.”

Once again, she felt that pain in her chest and heard the debates in her mind.

“Ike…I…”

Words failing her, she instead found herself leaning in and pressing her lips against his very lightly for a fraction of a second before pulling away.

Ike just kept his eyes on her trying to form words as she realized what she just did.

Looking away she entered the inn, recollecting his thoughts, Ike followed her, finding her just as she entered her room.

“Titania-“

“I’m sorry.”

She closed the door, leaving a dreadfully confused Ike outside.


	36. After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kiss has led to tension between Ike and Titania while the search for Tyse Erent and answers continues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BTW the tags have changed! Woo!  
> Also, that Black Knight mii outfit, here ya go 75 cents!

**Chapter 35 - After**

_Elsewhere_

“You would not believe how adorable they looked together.”

“Uh huh…”

“Seriously, if ANY couple was capable of manifesting little hearts it’d be them.”

“Yep…”

“You should _totally_ meet them.”

“I don’t think so.”

Sighing Cadeera turned “Seriously? You’ve been against meeting anyone!”

“Why are you still surprised?”

She crossed her arms “I’m tired of people not believing I have a boyfriend because you refuse to go out with me.”

“I didn’t think their opinions mattered so much.”

Cadeera looked away and shook her head “They don’t…but I just…I want to spend time with you…not here.”

“…”

“I know that you think everyone will-“

“I know they will.”

“Then they’ll have to go through me!” She yelled, the man could see the anger and determination in her eyes. Cooling down she whispered “Just think on it again. Please.”

“For you. Anything.”

She smiled and nodded “Thank you, Tyse.”

Emerging from the shadows, the gray skinned man allowed a smile to come to his face “Don’t mention it.”

* * *

_The Free Nation of Wan_

_Commerce Center Tekit – Outskirts_

Dawn found the Shades exhausted, Uhnie whispered to Shinon to take a deep breath before ripping the other arrow out of him.

“Are you absolutely certain-“

“Yes, Gatrie. I am. Whoever shot at us took off.”

Following the bolt that struck Gatrie’s shield, there was nothing but silence. The Marshall didn’t want to move just in case but after a while, Shinon had assured him the archer was gone.

“So was this some kind of…display of power?” Gatrie asked.

Uhnie shook her head “No. This one. He wanted to kill us…I’m not sure why he didn’t.”

“Who is this one?” Shinon asked as Uhnie pulled out a vulnerary and began treating his wounds “This one goes by Hell Rain. He’s a terror.”

“Did you know he was here?” Gatrie asked.

The woman sighed “I did…but there is no way he could have known we’d be here going after Quick Foot…unless…”

Taking her hands from Shinon the archer spat “Unless the other Shade you met…what did you say her name was again?”

“Blood Rose.”

“Right…what if she gave him our scent, you did say she liked the idea of you taking out the others for her.”

Uhnie closed her eyes “That’s a possibility…a very strong possibility…I’m sorry.”

Shinon put a hand on Uhnie’s injured shoulder “We should treat you now.”

“We should be going back to Mist and getting her to heal us. You took a rough hit Uhnie but Shinon-“

Standing, Uhnie shook her head “No. We can’t let anyone else know what happened. Hell Rain’s eyes are on the three of us…the only reason he’d let us live is that he’s marked us for later. He’ll be back to finish the job and until then we can’t let the others fall into his line of sight.”

“Then let’s pass off these injuries as sparring mishaps.” Gatrie decided.

Shinon nodded “At the very least for that shoulder, Uhnie.”

The woman gestured to the wounds in Shinon’s chest “And those? What? He ricocheted an arrow off a wall into himself accidentally?”

Shinon shook his head “Its fine. I’ll recover. It’s better than lying outright.”

Uhnie helped Shinon up who let out a sigh before speaking “By the way. If it isn’t too much. I’d like to know a bit more about the Shade War.”

“Volke only filled me in on some of the details after I officially became a Shade. Though I did do it in a haphazard way.”

“Yeah well we were just feathered by a Shade archer. We’re definitely a part of this now.”

Looking to Gatrie and Shinon she saw the pair nod. Clearing her throat she began “Volke has the finer details on most of the whys. You see…I was sworn into the war by Volke when I took the Mistress of Fire title but unofficially I’d already been pulled in.”

“By killing Coldheart?”

Uhnie nodded to Shinon as Gatrie added a flat “Who?”

“Killing or even fighting a Shade is enough to pull you into it, the other Shades will learn about it and determine that a new combatant has entered the fray. It can be on purpose or a very unfortunate accident.”

“Have there been people accidentally entering the war?”

Uhnie nodded to Gatrie “Quite a few...anyway, after my training Volke gave me a…list so to speak. It was entirely verbal and I’ve committed it to memory but it had three categories of tasks. Eliminations like Ion Jack and Quick Foot.”

Crossing his arms Shinon asked “How did he determine those had to die? What did they do?”

“Most Shades are independent. They get hired to do jobs from normal people or are sought out by contractors who act as go-betweens for some of the more…black operations. A would-be employer never meets his or her employee with a contractor, so when the task happens whatever it may be there is no direct link. Aside from contractors a few Shades joined together to form groups. Coldheart’s group had a long standing issue with Volke. I can’t say how it started but Coldheart and his goons Green Smoke, Shine Night and Ion Jack have been after him for a long time.”

“So killing Ion Jack was finishing that off…Quick Foot? Did he steal from Volke?”

Uhnie shook her head “No. Most Shades don’t like him but he is hard to catch when one is alone, believe me. I wanted to take him out as a service and Volke agreed.”

“What other tasks did you have?”

“Ghost. Basically be aware of and avoid. Hell Rain falls in that category. Volke said he wanted me to be very careful. If I thought I could handle them…he left it up to my discretion.”

“I’m guessing Blood Rose was not on the list at all eh?”

“Not at all…the last mission type was Recon. Volke’s done a lot of that so he only had one name for me…Desert Dragon.”

Shinon raised an eyebrow “Desert Dragon? You asked Leah about him, who is he?”

Uhnie sighed “Have you seen Volke work?”

“In battle? A bit.”

Uhnie looked away from Shinon “Well, imagine someone faster, deadlier.”

“Fuck that.” Shinon stated.

“It’s true…Desert Dragon is the best…he’s fought, beaten and nearly killed Volke multiple times.”

“Bull. Shit.”

Uhnie shook her head “I’m not lying Shinon. Volke’s exact description for this man is that he is a demon.”

“And you are looking for him?”

The woman nodded to Gatrie “Shades can mark other Shades for their own personal vendettas. For the fun of it. To test themselves.”

“Which is what Hell Rain did to us.” Gatrie earned a nod from Uhnie as she continued “Volke however…has never done that. He does his jobs as they come…nothing is ever personal with Volke.”

Gatrie and Shinon remained silent as she finished “But when Desert Dragon is involved. They are. That man is the only Shade…the only person that could make Volke angry, the only person who can make Volke doubt himself and the only person that Volke has ever marked.”

* * *

_The Free Nation of Wan_

_Coast City, Nevrez_

Ike stood outside Titania’s room, knocking. No response, he didn’t know what he expected it’s been this way since he started. Sighing he looked away and thought. Even if she did open the door…what would he say? What could he say? Scratching his head he groaned, things just became far more complicated than he was prepared for.

“Ike.”

Turning around he sighed “Hey Soren.”

“You look…down.”

“And you look up. What in the world happened to us?”

Soren crossed his arms as Ike chuckled.

After a short silence Ike sat down on the floor “Soren…I’m oblivious, aren’t I?”

Soren joined him “To what?”

“I didn’t know you or Mia had feelings for the other until Mia told me. I didn’t see Boyd and Mist happening. My own sister…I just can’t read this kind of thing.”

The sage raised an eyebrow “Is this actually bothering you? You always took the prodding as a joke.”

“I know…and I did.”

“Then why now?”

Ike shook his head “I don’t know…I just seem to be realizing that…I’m not good at this love thing.”

Soren crossed his arms “I’ve only ever heard of how difficult love is in every possible way…being with someone is hard, having feelings for someone is hard…once I started experiencing it I tried to rationalize it and just confused myself even more. You may not see these things but maybe that’s just another way that love is difficult.”

“Soren…have you noticed anything different about Titania?”

“Titania?”

Soren thought about the woman and started shaking his head “Not outwardly…she still cares for me in the way she does despite the fact I was so trying in my early employment. She’s continued to become a better warrior…stronger than most of us.”

Ike nodded at that as Soren continued thinking “I haven’t spent enough time talking with her lately to see if there was anything odd with her…perhaps I should.”

Ike sighed “I don’t know what to do…”

“About?”

“Her…I’ve never been this…conflicted in my life.”

Soren narrowed his eyes as Ike brought a hand to his head and sighed.

“Ike…what happened yesterday? What did you two do?”

“She took me out dancing.”

“Dancing?”

Chuckling Ike nodded “Apparently she has always wanted to dance with me…I think. She was very, very lively yesterday.”

Ike faced Soren and continued “I didn’t want to and she actually gave me an out, telling me it was alright. But her face…”

“She was upset?”

“Sad. She wanted me to stay so I did. We danced…it was great…the whole night was great…and…”

Soren nodded slowly “I see…”

“You see?”

“Ike. You know what I am. Mia knows what I am. Yet it has not changed the way either of you see me. If what you’re saying is true…it would be very vile for me to change my view of you.”

“…what am I…saying?”

“Did you enjoy last night?

“Yeah…it was great.”

“Why?”

Ike started to speak, before the name came out he caught himself.

Soren smirked “See?”

Ike tried to figure out the how, the why, the when. Only stopping when Soren put a hand on his shoulder.

“Soren, I can’t…this isn’t…we don’t-“

“Ike. Don’t explain this to me. Think about it…”

Standing the sage began to leave only to face Ike one more time “I finally realized how I truly felt about Mia when I was torn away from her...when there was the very real possibility that I would never see her again. Don’t let that be what clears your confusion.”

Walking away, the sage left an even more lost Ike behind.

* * *

Outside, Titania was standing in a clearing near a tree swinging Castle in very brutish arcs. Letting out groans and yells whenever she could because as it was obvious, she was very _very_ frustrated with herself. Spinning around she swung Castle across the tree before swinging back and leaving another deep cut in the wood.

Yelling she swung the weapon away, kicking up dirt before bringing it back around again. Mia was standing a short distance away, initially coming to train she saw quickly how…wild Titania seemed to be. _“She should slow it down a bit.”_

Mia watched as Titania sunk the axe deep into the tree near her, before tearing it out, stumbling back and barely catching herself.

“Titania?”

Sticking the weapon in the ground, the woman leaned against it as Mia neared “Titania?”

Turning to face her, Mia noted how sweaty the other woman was “Are you okay?”

Titania shook her head “No…I’m far from okay…”

Straightening out she spun Castle around again “Titania! You shouldn’t-“

Mia ducked as the axe swung wide over her and slammed into the tree, burying it deep into the wood. Releasing the weapon Titania laid herself against the tree and slid to the ground, breathing hard.

Getting up, Mia moved closer “Okay, you are clearly not alright.”

Titania shook her head “Nothing to worry about.”

“You almost cut my head off, there is something to worry about here.”

The older woman waved her off “It’s alright.”

Mia sat down next to her “No, it isn’t.”

After a short silence Titania spoke up “You’re right…but it is nothing for you to worry about Mia. I’m sorry for almost hitting you.”

“Titania. When I was moping about Soren or not sure what to do, you always helped me…early on I tried to deny my feelings, handle it myself but you forced your way in and helped me. I am grateful for that, especially now.”

A small smile appeared on Titania’s face as the younger woman continued “So I’m not going to leave this alone. Talk to me.”

Exasperated, Titania just whispered “I screwed up.”

“Screwed up…what?”

She tried to say it but couldn’t, shaking her head again she sighed “I let my emotions control my actions…”

Mia nodded as Titania continued “I just…I felt…I feel.”

Mia watched Titania bring a hand to her chest “I feel so strongly…but I shouldn’t…I can’t have these feelings. I can’t. But…I do…”

“Titania. Everyone is allowed to have feelings. You especially.”

Looking to the younger woman, Titania raised an eyebrow “You help everyone out so much, you are a great source of knowledge, a wonderful guide and benevolent guardian…but far too selfless. You do all this for everyone else and ask for nothing in return. You make all of us happy…but rarely do I see you do things for yourself.”

Titania shook her head “Do I need something for myself? Something to make me happy? I can’t just be happy?”

“Of course you can be happy Titania.”

Mia watched as the older woman still held a hand over her chest before adding “But what about your heart? The feelings you have now? If anyone should be able to fall in love or want to pursue something…it’s you. Be a little selfish. Give yourself this.”

Titania shook her head, Mia was surprised to see a tear fall from one of her eyes as she whispered “I can’t.”

Mia put a hand on the other woman’s shoulder “Why not?”

Once again, words failed the older woman. Mia thought about this before asking “Titania…how long has this been…an issue? I’m ashamed to say I never noticed anything wrong with you. After all the help you gave me…I’m sorry…I’m really sorry.”

Titania looked at Mia, the younger woman’s face showing immense guilt and sadness as she apologized again. Titania shook her head “I’ve been hiding this from everyone…from…him…honestly…even from myself. You have nothing to apologize for, Mia.”

As Mia nodded, the other woman continued “I don’t know why but…it’s just getting stronger…harder to conceal…I’ve been doing things that months ago I’d never have done…it was so easy to control back on Tellius but…being in places where no one knows who we are I just…want this.”

Unable to take it anymore, Titania decided to finally let it all go. Eyes on Mia she gave out a worn out “Ike.”

Mia tilted her head and began to speak when she realized exactly what that meant “I-Ike?”

The older woman looked away “How wrong is that?”

“And this started…before we left Tellius?”

Titania nodded “It did and it just…grows. I’ve been trying to stop it…I can’t feel like this, I can’t…”

“Why not?”

“Because before this I…I had…feelings for…”

She shook her head “I’m just…I keep telling myself that I’m just settling. That I’m just changing my gaze. But that isn’t it…it can’t be…but then I see that I’m just making excuses. My mind keeps…fighting…yes this is real…no this is only because of this…yes I want this…no I want to stop this before anything happens…too late for that last one now.”

“What happened?”

Titania brought a hand to her face “I…”

Letting out a heavy sigh she shook her head.

“Titania. You have to stop fighting and think. Really think about it.”

Titania shook her head as Mia continued “Do you have feelings for Ike? Answer that question, ignoring whatever else. Sort it out and see. It’ll become clear.”

“I don’t think I can.”

Mia smiled and put an arm around the other woman “I know you can.”

Titania looked to Mia’s smile “Titania. You have to know how strong you are. You can do this.”

“…you’re not…you don’t think this is…wrong?”

Mia shook her head “I never thought it could be a possibility…but if you really feel this strongly about him. About everything regarding him then there has to be a reason for it right? Don’t worry about what it means for the rest of us, any of us. Put yourself first this time.”

Titania let out a heavy sigh. Still unsure of what she should do.

* * *

Deciding to clear his head, Ike took a stroll through the city, not really paying attention to anything.

How could this happen?

How could he not see _this_?

Boyd and Mist were one thing. Soren and Mia were another but _this_ involved _him._

“…and her…”

The second he started thinking about her, he remembered last night. That very brief kiss she gave him. He kept seeing it, almost feeling it. He thought about what he and Soren talked about. Why was last night so enjoyable? Because of her. Releasing the thoughts he tried to forget about it all, push it away but it kept coming back.

“You look lost.”

Turning he noted Hyte walking next to him “You. What are you doing here?”

“I’m actually a native born on Zatuo. Shouldn’t be that shocking.”

“Right. Right.”

“In all honesty, Enri and I are leaving Nevrez. Got somewhere to be but the blind man wanted to meet you.”

Turning to his other side Ike saw a tall man in green, looking forward who held out a hand to Ike “Enri Tous.”

“The one who said we were odd.”

As the three started walking Ike looked over to Hyte “I appreciate your help yesterday but I’m kind of conflicted right now.”

“Over what? The not-date-date or is this something more?”

“It’s a lot…I just need to process it.”

After a short silence Enri spoke “Are you looking into the events?”

Ike raised an eyebrow “What events?”

“I talked to the woman, Titania…she asked about things so I told her of the strange scents that arrived here. Four and five months ago.”

It was clear that one of those trips matched with Tyse Erent’s supposed arrival “Where? Was there one here?”

“Four months ago.”

Hyte sighed “I wouldn’t take anything Enri says too seriously, a lot of the information comes from his wyvern Hikea primarily.”

“No. No. That matches up. I’m looking for a man named Tyse Erent.”

Hyte and Enri shook their heads and spoke in unison “Doesn’t ring a bell.”

“But four months ago there was a line of attacks here in Nevrez. They eventually stopped only for a few to come up to the west in Oeldehm.” Enri added.

“Attacks.” That was most certainly Tyse Erent, as Klein said he was a vampire who couldn’t control his bloodlust. It sounds like he continued going after people here.

“Oeldehm is to the west? Thank you.” As Ike started to leave Hyte called out “What exactly are you looking into?”

“As I said. A lot.”

After the man left, Hyte crossed his arms “Peculiar.”

Enri nodded “They are odd…just…not in a bad way.”

“Good to hear you being less wary.”

* * *

In an open field, Zihark and Leah stood watching Mia as she read a few passages from Spark. The Islander turned around “Hey Soren! Finally up?”

“I got held up. What’s going on?”

“You made a tome for her but not me? Talk about picking favorites.”

Soren sighed “It was hard enough building the one. I-“

Zihark smacked Soren’s back “I’m just foolin. Seriously Soren you need a lot of help with the whole joking thing.”

Soren sighed again as Leah spoke up “Have you been reading from your Thunder tome? We spent some time sparring and all that but I didn’t really see you break out the book.”

Zihark chuckled “Well…”

Soren couldn’t help but smirk as a small fire exploded in the field causing Zihark and Leah jumped. Mia laughed and started cheering “I did it!”

“Was it supposed to burst like that?” The group noted Ranulf joining them, Soren shaking his head “Not really.”

“Hey Mia, if you are going to be using that…do me a favor and warn me about it.”

The woman looked to Ranulf “Oh shush, I’m not gonna burn your blue cat behind.”

“What’s up Ranulf? Something happen?” Leah asked.

“Ike just wants to see everyone…we’re moving from Nevrez.”

“He probably found something.” Zihark stated as Ranulf gestured for them to head back.

“Mia.”

The woman ran to Soren’s side, the pair joining the other three. “I’m going to be able to blend magic and swordplay soon right?”

Soren nodded “Most likely. I have faith in you.”

“Thank you teach.”

“Hey guys!”

The five came to a stop, Soren and Mia spoke in unison again “Cadeera?”

“Yep!”

She stopped in front of the group “Was hoping you were still around!”

“Who’s this?” Zihark asked.

“She helped us out last night.” Soren stated.

“Indeed I did! Please tell me the night was _fantastic!_ That diner is a great one so I’m sure it was!”

The couple nodded, Mia speaking “It was wonderful. Thanks again.”

“Don’t mention it! SO! Are you all going somewhere?”

“We’re leaving Nevrez apparently. Did Ike say where to?” Soren asked to the Laguz who tapped his chin “West.”

“OH! So…Oeldehm? That is the immediate city next to Nevrez. What are the ODDS!? I was about to ask if you two would join me on a trip to Oeldehm! Now I guess I don’t have to!”

“Well we are in the middle of something rather important…” Mia started.

Soren shrugged “But we will be in Oeldehm anyway. Who knows we may find what we’re looking for while we’re with Cadeera.”

Mia nodded at that as the other woman smiled “Great! So mind if I join you all?”

Soren and Mia looked to the other three who all shook their heads, Zihark speaking “The more the merrier.”

“Wonderful!”

Soren and Mia walked ahead with Cadeera close behind. Leah looked to Zihark and Ranulf “You two okay?”

Snapping his fingers the two jumped and looked to him. The Islander sighed “Come on guys. That’s how you make a first impression? The least you could do is look her in the eyes.”

“How?” Zihark deadpanned.

* * *

“You guys should be more careful in your sparring.” Mist stated as Uhnie examined her fully healed arm before smiling at Mist.

“My bad. I’m making these two into Shades…it’s nothing easy.”

Sighing Mist walked away as Gatrie asked “So what do we do about this Hell Rain and Blood Rose thing?”

Uhnie sighed “I’m not entirely sure…I shouldn’t have mentioned I was traveling with friends when I was talking to Blood Rose. We can’t bring anyone else into this.”

Shinon nodded “Right. Will he be able to recognize us without our outfits?”

Uhnie shrugged “Maybe. Maybe not. But he’s going to play with us. Volke’s notes put down that he enjoys hunting his targets. It’s like a game to him.”

“A dangerous game.” Gatrie stated before scratching the back of his head “So can we find him?”

Uhnie shrugged “I don’t know…but if I can find Blood Rose again I’ll make her tell me where he is. Till then be on your guards.”

Shinon nodded as Gatrie sighed “Great.”

“Hey, you wanted to tag along so now you’re in it. Welcome to the Shade War.”

Gatrie brushed it off as they came to a stop near Ike. The blue haired man couldn’t help but smile seeing all the Mercenaries wearing normal clothes. It was a strange yet pleasant sight.

“So, where are we headed?” Boyd asked.

“Oeldehm. It’s possible the one we’re after is there…well, one of the ones we’re after.”

“Did someone tell you this?” Soren asked.

“Sort of. A few locals mentioned that four months ago something odd arrived and afterwards there were a few attacks here in Nevrez before continuing in Oeldehm. If he’s there we have to find him.”

“Shouldn’t we…I don’t know…get some official help? Thyremog’s King and Hitenticul’s ruling class were pretty great allies to have.” Boyd asked.

Ike shrugged “Do we…know who is in charge here?”

“I do.”

Ike looked to Cadeera “Uh…who are you?”

“Oh. Right. My name is Cadeera Ien, friend of Soren and Mia’s. Friend right?”

The two looked to each other before Mia nodded “Yeah. Friend.”

Smiling the woman in white continued “Each dominion on Zatuo runs itself. But being the Free Nation, each city in Wan has its own governing body in accordance to what the people of the city want. A small senate or a single governor. In all honesty I don’t think they’d be much help since they have such limited jurisdiction.”

“Politics. Wonderful.” Shinon stated, rolling his eyes.

Ike sighed “Well then we’ll have to handle this ourselves.” He then looked to Oscar who was leading his steed “Where is Titania?”

“Probably at the stables getting her horse.”

“Okay I’ll go get her. Everyone else go on ahead and remember who we are looking for alright?”

All the Mercenaries nodded and began walking, Oscar approaching Ike “So. Was last night fun?”

“Huh? Fun?”

“Yeah. You were very worried about it. Was it alright?”

Ike nodded “It was…great.”

“Well that’s good then.” With a smile Oscar turned and walked away.

Leah looked to Cadeera “That was good info to know.”

“I can help you all a lot more, I know a lot about Zatuo.”

After a short pause she asked “By the way…what are you guys doing?”

“We’re on a mission.” Zihark stated, simply.

“I made that much out. What’s it for?”

“Finding a few guys.” Mia stated.

The other woman nodded slowly “Who are they? What did they do?”

The group looked to each other before she laughed “Oh no. I’m that person aren’t I? The ‘why are you asking so many questions’ type of person. I’m genuinely very curious! You’re all foreigners, never been to Zatuo before but you’re here looking for locals? It’s weird.”

Putting a hand on her chest she smiled “I swear I only want to help!”

Soren nodded to Mia who spoke “Well there are three men. We only know their names: Tyse Erent, Zijo Oit and Norad Jyuugo.”

No one else noticed anything except for Soren, the smallest bit of…familiarity in Cadeera’s eyes.

“Oh. Well. I’ve…I’m sorry to say after all my insistence but I’ve never heard of…any of them. Sorry.”

“That’s fine. With any luck this lead will pan out.” Zihark stated as the group continued moving.

“Um…what are you…hoping to find them for?”

Soren looked to other woman “We’re hoping for Tyse Erent at the very least to help us.”

“Help?”

Soren nodded “We’ve heard from his former partner, a man named Klein Kruse that he might be approachable to say the least. We’re hoping he can help us hunt down the other two.”

Cadeera swallowed as the group continued on their way.

* * *

“I screwed up real bad.” Titania stated, stroking her horse’s mane as she led it out of the stable. “I just couldn’t stuff it all back down as hard as I tried…”

Even now when she thought about…the kiss…she felt her heart hammer in her chest. She wanted it but…no, she didn’t.

Shaking her head a voice came out of nowhere “Hey there good twin.”

Titania barely noted Ufernia as she led her horse along, the other woman followed, seeing Titania’s expression she sighed “Oh no…it didn’t go well did it? Damn, I’m sorry, I really thought…I’m sorry.”

Titania shook her head “No Ufernia. It was all good…great actually. We had a lot of fun…we danced far more than I thought we would…my…”

The Gold Knight brought a hand to her chest “I felt…so happy.”

The other red haired woman smiled “Oh…well that’s wonderful! So why do you look so distraught my fair twin?”

Titania faced the other woman “Have you ever had issues like this?”

“Feelings for a younger man? Fair twin, look at me.”

Ufernia gestured to herself “I’m not really one for long relationships. I like to have fun. It’s why I’m the bad twin. I’ve had connections with younger men but never a desire to actually be with one.”

Titania looked down “This is wrong…isn’t it?”

“Now don’t go putting words in my mouth. If you really have feelings for him you should act on it but if you don’t want to. If you really believe it to be wrong…then the only person who can stop it is you.”

“I can’t decide…I really can’t.”

Ufernia crossed her arms, before she could speak Ike appeared “Titania!”

She looked up in shock, coming to a halt “Ike-“

She shook her head “I mean…Commander. I heard from Oscar where we are going. Sorry for the slow response.”

Before Ike could speak he noticed the other woman “Um…hello?”

“Ah so you are Ike.” She then whispered to herself “This all became much clearer now…”

“What?”

“Nothing. Nothing. Fair twin, I’ll leave you be.”

“N-no! Please I-“

Ufernia started walking away “I have a store to run! Enjoy your day!”

After the woman left, Titania’s eyes landed on Ike.

“Titania-“

“Commander-“

The pair cleared their throats with Ike speaking “Titania…I…I’m not…”

“Commander. I really am…deeply sorry for last night. My actions were inexcusable.”

Ike shook his head “Titania. You are allowed to refer to me as Ike. You know this.”

Looking down she spoke lowly “I can’t.”

“Titania…I’ve been…thinking and…”

“Spare it no thought, Commander. We have work to do. Important things that we need to take care of. There is too much ahead of us for distractions.”

Titania led her horse past Ike, the man putting a hand on her shoulder, feeling her flinch.

“Ike please…just let this go…”

Not sure how to respond to Titania’s broken voice, Ike stood there with his hand outstretched as she walked away.

* * *

_The Benkanan Republic_

_Benkanan Palace_

“Welcome back Wesa. How did the nation look?”

The man shrugged “Better. The small riots have been mostly stamped out, hear anything here Noet?”

Noet shook his head “Just some rumblings about that Ute man but he’s long gone.”

Wesa and Noet turned as several men in ebony armor with blood red trims walked by. Wesa swallowed “Those…men…they still make me nervous.”

Noet shrugged “What does it matter to us. They did all the work last month. What did we need to mobilize our military for aside from letting our new subjects know what changed?”

“What did change Noet? Why did we go along with this?”

Noet tapped the side of his head “I’m not entirely sure but he is our King yes? Why should we disobey?”

Before Noet could reply another man joined them “Wesa Nee. Noet Telkit.”

They stood at attention “Yes sir!”

“I see your back…how did the trip go?” Wesa added to which the other man smiled “Excellent. I feel moving into that nation would be the best bet…all I need is word from the King.”

“…we are…invading again?”

“Well we have to stop the would-be rebels that escaped right? They’ll incite rebellion wherever they go, can’t have that can we?”

Wesa and Noet eyed each other as the third man walked by “Either way I’ll speak with the King. With any luck he’ll grant me the right to use the same method of invasion.”

“What of Ezak and Sutne, sir?”

“When they return from their search they’ll receive new orders. Is that all?”

The pair bowed “Yes Commander Oit…sir.”

Entering the palace, Oit nodded to the guards, a hunched back older man joining him “The tome you granted me Commander…is most intriguing. The secrets it holds…”

“Can you use it, Yakaan?”

“Not yet sir. But I’m very close.”

“Get. Closer.”

“Yes, of course.”

Coming to a stop, Oit faced him “Heydhar and Unotch, how do they fare?”

“Heydhar remains still as stone but Unotch has made himself scarce as of late. I’m the only one in the capital acting at the moment. Well aside from the Watch.”

Oit tapped his chin “Very well. We’re moving again soon so hopefully those two will be set by then, return to your work.”

“Of course.”

After the man left, Oit entered the throne room “King Wetka, sir. I have a suggestion.”

* * *

_The Free Nation of Wan_

_Cliff Town, Oeldehm_

Oeldehm earned the name Cliff Town for the valley that the town was built around. The valley cut north through the town and met with a large cave system inside the grand mountain named Oeldehm Peak, there were many cliff faces along the town making the place look very inhabited but also very natural as many homes were built into cliff and stone structures that were already there.

In addition there was a large stone clock tower in the center of the town. It was east of this tower that the Mercenaries entered the town.

“So…how do we begin?” Zihark asked.

“Ask around I guess. See if we can find out where some of the attacks happened. Unless you know, Cadeera.” Mia stated, looking to other woman.

“Huh? Oh…no, I’m not too familiar…I actually just remembered something I had to do…I’ll be right back!”

Soren tilted his head “You sure? I thought-”

“Yeah! Yeah.” The woman bowed to them and started walking away.

“Alright everyone, let’s see if we can find anything out. We’ll all meet back by that.”

Ike pointed at the massive clock tower earning nods from everyone as a few groups began breaking off.

“So should we-“

Soren held his hand up, Zihark tilting his head “What?”

Before Soren could speak a voice came from behind him “That woman knows something. You’re going to follow her.” The group turned to Titania. “It was written all over her face, did none of you see it?”

Leah and Zihark shook their heads with Mia pointing out “I don’t like distrusting nice people…”

“And we shouldn’t…but she knows something and she is reacting out of fear. Not malice.” Soren nodded to Titania “She’s right.”

“Mind if I come along?”

Soren cast a brief look over to Ike then back at Titania “I don’t see why not. Leah? Mia? Zihark?”

The three just smiled and gave thumbs up to the older woman. Turning they started heading in the direction Cadeera left.

“Titania.”

The woman gave Ike her horse’s reins “Lead her somewhere she can stay if you don’t mind, Commander.”

“We’re partners. We’re supposed to-“

“Thank you.” With that she headed for Soren’s group as Ike sighed.

“What was that all about?” The hero looked to Ranulf and shook his head “It’s a long story. Mind sticking with me while we look for this Tyse Erent character?”

“No problem at all.”

Leading the horse along, Ike and Ranulf fell into step with each other.

* * *

“Stay calm. Stay calm.”

_“Calm!? Now is the time to fucking PANIC!”_

“No. No. It’s not…they need help. That’s all.”

_“They are looking for him! For your BOYFRIEND! Do you know who they could be!?”_

“Of course I know who they could be! But…oh…”

Shaking her head, Cadeera kept walking. What were the odds these people she met from another country, the ones who seemed so nice and she honestly liked them knew who her boyfriend was? Were they here to kill him? Take him away? She had to talk to him first.

_“If by talk you mean get him to leave the city! Then yeah.”_

“I’ll see what he thinks first.”

A man came in front of her “Excuse me-“

“Not now!” She yelled before pushing past him.

Several feet behind, Soren’s group was following with the sage speaking “Mia. Leah. Zihark. Cover another angle. We’ll attract less attention that way.”

Mia nodded “Right. C’mon.”

The other two followed as Titania and Soren eyed each other. As they prepared to move forward a man approached them “Excuse me.”

“Yes?” Soren asked.

“My name is Ezak Roun. My partner and I are currently looking for this man.” He held up a picture of a rather dark looking man with gray clothes that had almost royal red and blue insignias all over it. He wore a large hat over his black hair, covering his eyes.

Soren and Titania shook their heads the latter speaking “Afraid not. Who is he?”

“Just a…man we need to find.”

“We’re actually looking for someone right now. Tyse Erent.”

Ezak tilted his head before saying “I apologize but I’m not familiar with the name.”

Soren sighed “It’s alright. Thank you though.”

“Don’t mention it.” With that Ezak walked away as the pair continued forward.

Titania looked over to Soren “You know…I expected you to cover from this side with Mia.”

“We don’t have to be together every waking moment…and I actually wanted to speak with you.”

Titania looked away “About?”

After a short pause he asked “How are you?”

“How am I?”

“You and I haven’t exactly had the chance to…catch up, so to speak. Given everything that has been happening.”

Titania’s eyes moved to Cadeera as the woman rounded a corner before coming back to Soren “Is this really what you wanted to talk about?”

“Yes. Titania. You showed a lot of concern for my well-being back on Hitenticul. I want you to know I really appreciated that.”

“Don’t mention it…are you…worried about me?”

“Should I be?”

Titania sighed “Did Mia tell you something?”

“Mia? No.”

The pair remained silent as they continued walking before Soren came to a sudden stop. Titania looked at him “Soren. We-“

“The others will follow her. Titania. Are you okay?”

She looked away before answering “Yes. I am.”

“…I am asking because I do in fact care.”

Facing the sage she smiled “I’m fine Soren. I swear.”

Sighing, Soren nodded and continued moving. As he walked by, the Gold Knight’s smile vanished.

* * *

“I feel kinda bad about this.”

Zihark nodded to Leah “Yeah, she seems really peppy.”

“She’s super nice. But it’s like Titania said, she isn’t doing anything out of malice.”

Zihark looked to Mia “Are we absolutely certain about that?”

“Yeah.” Mia stated “I know Soren and I only spoke with her for a bit but she is a genuinely nice person. A good person.”

“Guys she’s headed for the cliffs.”

Looking to where Leah was pointing, Cadeera had indeed started heading off the main road onto the rockier outcroppings.

Mia, Leah and Zihark glanced at each other before continuing with Leah speaking up “You all have a partner system right?”

Mia nodded “Yeah, why?”

“Well…aren’t Titania and Ike partners?”

“They are.” Zihark stated.

The two men looked to each other as Mia remained silent before Zihark asked “Did something happen? She did win that bet with Ike.”

“You think they’re not on speaking terms right now?” Leah said, confused “Given what I know of all of you…I see that as highly unlikely.”

The Daein nodded “It is unlikely…so why?”

“Maybe she just wants to help us. Ike, of all of us, can certainly handle himself.”

The men thought this over before agreeing.

Mia thought about what Titania told her and sighed sadly. It seemed the woman didn’t want to try to settle her situation with Ike, rather she was avoiding it.

* * *

“Ike?”

“…”

“Ike?”

“…”

“You stepped in animal waste.”

“Okay.”

Sighing, Ranulf took the horse’s reins from the other man’s hands, Ike looked over to him.

“You okay man? Probably not, you look way more distraught than I’ve ever seen you before. Not to mention your mind seems to be elsewhere. What are you thinking about?”

Titania’s face came to mind again and her name to his lips before he shook his head “Nothing. Nothing.”

Ranulf looked at Titania’s horse which looked back at him. The Laguz spoke “Do you buy that?”

The horse seemed to shake its head, bringing a smirk to Ranulf’s face “Yeah. We both know you’re lying.”

“Ranulf-“

“Pardon me.”

The pair came to a stop before looking up at a man.

“Need something?” Ike asked.

“I’m looking for some friends of mine. Muscle man, blonde hair, very loud and smaller girl, blue hair, more withdrawn.”

Ranulf brightened “Sounds an awful like Ewata and Atzu.”

The man looked at him, Ranulf barely able to make out one eye not covered by his black hair or the shade from his hat “Yes. That would be them.”

“Last I saw they were in Nevrez.”

“Hm…thank you.” Holding his hand out, Ranulf took it “By the way, I’m Ranulf, this is Ike.”

“Well met then. I thank you again. Ranulf.” Nodding to Ike the man walked away.

“Small world eh?” The Laguz stated as the three continued walking, a stable drawing near.

Ike stood mostly silent, causing the Laguz to sigh, before he could say anything Ike spoke “Ranulf.”

“Yes?”

“Have you ever been in love?”

“Woah. This is about love? After all these years who caught your eye Ike? This is only our second day on Zatuo! When did you even meet someone?”

The hero sighed “I just…it’s hard to explain.”

“Duh. If it’s love it’s never easy to explain. Come on man, let’s sit at the stable and you can tell me everything.”

* * *

“Hello, my name is Sutne Palk. Have any of you seen this man?”

Shinon, Uhnie and Gatrie looked to the picture before shaking  their heads in unison the woman speaking “Sorry. This guy have a name?”

“Teiaya Ute.”

“He a criminal?” Shinon asked.

Sutne started to say something but thought better of it “He’s just a person of interest. Nothing more.”

“Wish we could help but never saw him.”

Sutne groaned and walked away, Shinon and Gatrie following the retreating man. Uhnie on the other hand felt something, her eyes flying to a roof where she barely made something out. Clenching her fists she took off.

“Uhnie!” Shinon yelled “Damn it! Gatrie!”

“Right behind you!”

The pair shot off across the road after the woman as she scaled a building. “Uh Shinon, I’m not wearing my armor but I still can’t do that!”

“Go around then! I’ll stick to the edge!” The man scaled the building as Gatrie cut through an alley.

Noting the same woman coming after her, Blood Rose let out a sigh, grinding to a halt she turned “You again? Look-“

Before she could speak Uhnie tackled her to the ground and struck her in the face before pulling out Scarlet.

“Hey what the fuck are you doing bitch!?”

“Shut the fuck up and answer me! Why!?”

Lifting a leg, Blood Rose kicked Uhnie off before springing to her feet and drawing two blades, Uhnie shot back in, red blade flashing. The pair began dancing around each other, weapons aiming for flesh but only finding steel.

Second blade coming in, Uhnie flipped over it and landed behind Blood Rose, ducking beneath a kick and jumping away from another blade.

Shinon finally made in time to see the blades clash again before Uhnie was kicked away, sheathing her blades Blood Rose threw several knives at the fallen woman. Quickly drawing his bow Shinon sniped one out of the air as Uhnie adjusted herself, the leftover knives bouncing off the roof. Standing again and spinning Scarlet, Uhnie launched at the other woman who deflected her blade with ease before jumping and kicking the woman in the face.

“Hey! Stop!” Shinon stated drawing back his bow string “Stop or I’ll put you down!”

Blood Rose eyed him. Shinon barely made out a black flash before taking two swift punches to the gut and a kick to the head. Stumbling away, Blood Rose drop kicked him in the back, slamming the archer to the roof.

Uhnie stood up as Gatrie appeared “Finally up here, what’s going on?”

Screaming Uhnie tackled, Blood Rose to the ground, away from Shinon.

Looking at the other Shade’s one eye showing extreme anger Uhnie punched her in the face again and screamed “Why!?”

Blood Rose flipped them around, striking Uhnie in the face as Shinon yelled “Stop!” Aiming an arrow at the woman. Blood Rose turned to see him then saw Gatrie on her other side holding shield and spear.

Standing up from Uhnie the woman narrowed her eyes “So I was on your list…is that what this is? You sure had me fooled.”

Uhnie spat as she stood up “I could say the same thing about you…”

Blood Rose looked at Shinon “Shoot me, I’ll cut the arrow out of the air, knock the woman to the ground and flip the other guy around and slam him into the roof. You three hold no power over me.”

Shinon narrowed his eyes as Gatrie groaned “She’s going to flip me over?”

“No.”

The four turned as another man appeared and gestured at Blood Rose “Can I speak with her.”

“When she tells us why she set Hell Rain on us!” Uhnie yelled.

Blood Rose looked at her “What in the world are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb!” Shinon called “We went after Quick Foot after you told her about it and then Hell Rain got the drop on us! He marked us! All because you told him what we were doing!”

“Admit it!” Uhnie yelled.

The other man and Blood Rose locked eyes before the woman let out a sigh “I’m sorry that happened to you. Hell Rain is not one to get involved with.”

The woman put a hand on her chest “But I swear to you. I said nothing.”

“I can attest to that. After she spoke with you Mistress, she was with me. We did not once meet with this Hell Rain.”

“And who the hell are you!?”

Following Uhnie’s yell, Gatrie looked to the man “Hey! You’re that Teiaya Ute guy!”

Shinon and Uhnie looked at the man and he was indeed the one in Sutne’s picture. Teiaya’s one visible eye narrowed as Blood Rose walked over to him.

“Who are you all with?” The man asked carefully. Shinon shot an arrow at his foot “I see your hand going for the blades along your back. Don’t-“

Reaching into his cloak the man pulled out a tome, a black flash covered the area in darkness. Shinon and Uhnie reacted instantly shooting through the shadows and emerging on the other side.

Gatrie followed them shortly after, sighing “I’m guessing they’re gone.”

Uhnie narrowed her eyes as Shinon asked “Was she telling the truth?”

“Maybe…”

“What do we do now?” Shinon asked, putting his weapon away as Uhnie tapped her chin “We have to find that Sutne guy again. Ask him about Teiaya. Find out he is we can maybe track him and find them again.”

Shinon and Gatrie nodded, the three climbed down from the building and began their new mission.

* * *

_The Free Nation of Wan_

_Cliff Town, Oeldehm – Mountain Outskirts_

Turning around, Cadeera noted the silence before proceeding. Entering the same cave she was in several hours back.

“Tyse! Tyse!”

The man rolled over on his bed and groaned “What?”

After a short silence she smacked the side of her head “Can you put a shirt on! You’re distracting me!”

Sighing the man laid back down “You’re fault for getting distracted. Why are you here so soon anyway? I said I’d be fine with meeting these friends of yours today as long as they came here. Couldn’t find them?”

“It’s not that…but it looks like you were right to be wary.”

“…why?”

“They know you.”

Tyse sat up quickly “What?”

“I swear I never said your name but they came to Zatuo specifically looking for you…and two other guys.”

Springing to his feet the man grabbed his jacket and put it on “Didn’t you say they came in on a ship from Hitenticul?”

“Yeah. They mentioned a bunch of names and something about wanting help but I’m not completely sure what about…I just had to tell you, just in case.”

Tyse nodded and approached her “I don’t know who these people are but if they came from Hitenticul they could very well want me dead. I told you everything I did while I was over there, right?”

“Yeah…but maybe-“

He shook his head “No. No maybe. These people-“

Cadeera raised an eyebrow as Tyse spun around and began sniffing the air. “Tyse?”

“What _is_ that?” Sniffing again he narrowed his eyes.

“Tyse! Remember what we talked about! Remember why we’re out here! Tyse!”

* * *

Outside of the cave, Soren and Titania kneeled behind several stones, the pair noted Mia, Leah and Zihark across the way.

“What now, Soren?”

The sage sighed “We’re going to have to show we didn’t completely trust her…but also that we have no malicious intent ourselves. So let’s just go in and talk to her.”

“Are you sure?”

“We have to. If she knows something she could be a big help.”

Soren stood up just as a man walked out of the cave, Titania stood as well “Who is that?”

The man’s eyes found Soren. The sage noted the gray skin and before he could say anything the man unfurled his wings.

“It’s him! Tyse Erent!”

Screeching the vampire shot straight at Soren.


	37. Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One group learns of Zijo Oit, the other speaks with Tyse Erent and the last becomes involved with something...more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good to be back, this chapter was a pain to work through but here it is at last! Hoping this doesn't happen again because Zatuo is the end of the line for this story.

**Chapter 36 - Answers**

_The Free Nation of Wan_

_Cliff Town, Oeldehm – Clock Tower_

Looking to the Clock Tower, Sutne shook his head before turning to see his partner approaching. “Hey Ezak. I’m guessing you found-“

“Nothing.  Not a thing. Ah well, we figured it’d be a stretch.”

As Sutne released a heavy sigh the pair heard a bird call from above. Ezak looked up and held out his hand to take a note as the bird flew away. Opening it he raised an eyebrow, Sutne noting the change.

“What’s up? Orders?”

“Yeah…it’s from Commander Oit. He says that Teiaya is going to be in Bryte soon so he wants us there.”

Sutne tilted his head “How in the world would Oit know that?”

Ezak shrugged “Orders. So we do it.”

“What if it’s wrong?”

“What if it’s right?”

Before either could say anything more Sutne recognized three strangers headed right for them “You all! What-“

Uhnie cut him off “What do you know about Teiaya?”

“Yeah, we need to find him.” Shinon stated.

Ezak gestured to them “Who are they?”

“Why do you need to find Teiaya? When I asked you all acted like you’ve never heard the name before. What changed?” Sutne asked to which Gatrie answered “We just ran into him and a friend of his. They escaped so we’re trying to track them down.”

“You saw Teiaya? Where did he go!?” Ezak demanded.

Uhnie shrugged “He created a black fog and slipped away. We need to find him and his partner, we need answers.”

Sutne smirked “Well. Apparently he is headed for Bryte. We’re divided on whether the lead is solid but we may as well go anyway. If what you say is true chances are he left Oeldehm.”

Shinon nodded “Alright then! We’ll do that. Where is Bryte?”

“I’m going to go round up our people.” Sutne nodded to Ezak who walked off before speaking “Bryte is up north in the Tow Union, while it is a busy place with a lot of businesses we’ve also received a place where he may be holding some sort of meeting.”

Uhnie smiled “Alright then! We’re all set to go!”

“Surely you wouldn’t mind a few strangers tagging along eh?”

Sutne shrugged to Shinon “With more people maybe we can actually hold him in place this time. Benkanan thanks you for your help.”

“Hey!” Uhnie, Shinon and Gatrie turned to see Mist, Boyd, Oscar and Rolf approaching, the middle brother speaking “How has your search been going?”

Shinon crossed his arms “We’ve actually come across something else that we have to handle.”

Oscar looked at them oddly “Ike made it pretty clear that we have to find these three men. Are you three not doing that?”

“We were.” Gatrie stated “But we ran into a-“

“Personal issue.” Uhnie finished.

“So you guys are just abandoning the mission? It’s hard enough like this, we need all the help we can get!” Mist stated.

Shinon sighed “We know. We know.”

“But come on, what were the odds that anyone in Oeldehm would know anything? Chances are the guys we’re looking for are not in this town and we’re wasting time. We may actually find a better lead up north.”

Rolf nodded to Uhnie “Maybe but-“

“Alright everyone is moving. Who are these people?” Ezak stated joining them again.

“Look, if it concerns you all so much I’ll run the questions by these guys.” Uhnie turned to face Ezak and Sutne “Do the names Tyse Erent, Zijo Oit and Norad Jyuugo mean anything to you all?”

Ezak and Sutne faced each other before the former spoke “Of course. Commander Oit is the leading military figure of the Benkanan Republic. He’s bolstered our army and led us on a flawless mission of stabilization. He’s practically a patriot.”

Uhnie nodded at the pair before facing the other Mercenaries “See? Nothing.”

After a short silence she looked back to the two men from Benkanan and gave them a flat “What?”

* * *

_Cliff Town, Oeldehm – Outskirts_

“Not this time!” Swinging his arm, Soren struck Tyse with a powerful gale throwing him towards Mia who quickly brought out her tome and waited for Tyse to get close before casting her own spell. A small flame exploded along Tyse’s back and threw the vampire across the ground.

Leah and Zihark drew their blades with the latter stating “Still don’t think it’s supposed to do that.”

Titania brought out her axe as Tyse stood up and screeched. Soren prepared to give orders when several tendrils of light came in from all directions and struck Tyse multiple times.

The vampire swung around to see Cadeera who called out to the Mercenaries “Cover your eyes! Now!”

A large flashing white orb formed in the woman’s hand, Soren relayed her command causing the Mercenaries to look away as Tyse approached Cadeera. The woman held up the orb of light and yelled “Komaru!” The ball then exploded into a brilliant white light that caused Tyse to screech and fall to his knees, practically blinded. The Mercenaries looked back as Cadeera continued approaching Tyse, kneeling next to him “Are you alright?”

Blinking a few times his eyes found hers “Yeah…I am…sorry.”

She laughed “Oh come on Tyse. I know you are so don’t apologize to me. What you really should do is apologize to my friend who you were very clearly threatening.”

He sighed as she helped him up, “But first.” The woman pulled her shirt from her neck exposing more of it to Tyse. The Mercenaries made moves only for her to hold her hand out. Tyse sunk his teeth into her neck for a bit, pulling away he let out a heavy sigh “Thank you.”

“Of course…now…”

Nodding he turned to face the Mercenaries, now no longer looking so threatening they got a clearer look at him. Just like the other vampires his skin was dark gray and he had blood red eyes with yellow irises. He had thick, wild gray hair on top of his head and wore a dark green jacket with red trims which was wide open revealing his toned and scarred upper body. A large belt was wrapped around his red leg-wear that led to his gray boots. Sighing again he approached Soren causing Titania to grip Castle a bit tighter. Coming to a stop in front of the sage he spoke. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?”

He nodded “I’ve been working against this but…you aren’t from around here, are you?”

“No.”

“Then the new blood combined with my panic just…”

He shook his head before repeating his apology and holding his hand out for Soren who took it and gave it a few shakes.

“So. You’re all Cadeera’s friends?”

Mia, Leah and Zihark came closer, the first speaking “And you must be Cadeera’s boyfriend?”

He nodded “That I am. My name is Tyse Erent though I’m sure you all knew that.”

The Mercenaries all gave him their names with Soren confirming that they did know who he was before Titania asked “How did you come to be here?”

The vampire sighed as Cadeera joined him “That’s a long story.”

“In all honesty we have quite a few questions and problems we hope you can help us with.” Mia stated.

The vampire nodded “I can try.” He gestured to the cave “I don’t have much but you will all at least be able to sit down.”

As Tyse started walking everyone fell into step behind him, Cadeera speaking “I’m sorry I lied to you all…I was scared. Worried.”

“That’s understandable but we swear we aren’t here to do anything bad to Tyse. All that was just self-defense.” Mia said.

“Really?”

Titania nodded “We just want answers. Information. That’s all.”

Cadeera let out a sigh of relief, Tyse himself wasn’t sure if he believed that but if they really wanted to kill him they’d be doing so right now.

* * *

_Cliff Town, Oeldehm – Stable_

Looking to the setting sun, Ranulf let out a sigh before looking to Ike who was once again looking nowhere.

“Hey man. I thought we were gonna talk about this. So far all you’ve done is sit there and look absolutely lost.”

Ike shook his head “Sorry. I just…it’s difficult.”

Ranulf laughed at that “Its love! Of course it’s difficult which is why I’m here lending my ears and hopefully some advice. But you need to give me something first.”

“I know…I’m just trying to figure out how to say it. How to start.”

Ranulf rolled his eyes “Ike you wield two freakishly massive swords with no problem, you led us all to victory against crazed Kings, crazier Senators and our own Goddess not to mention everything else we’ve done since we left Tellius. I’m sure you can stomach a little love talk.”

The hero laughed “When you put it that way, I should be able to right?”

“Yeah. You definitely should be able to.”

Ike let out a deep breath “Ranulf. I…think…”

He shook his head “No. Not that. I…know…I’m almost certain that I’ve developed feelings for…Titania.”

The man faced his Laguz companion, whose face didn’t change for a few moments before he smiled “Really? Is that it?”

Before Ike could ask the Laguz started laughing “Alright then this will be very easy to take care of.”

He stood up and gestured for Ike to do the same. As he did so he asked “Where are we going?”

“Where else? To find Titania and tell her how you feel.”

Ike looked at him oddly “Didn’t you hear what I said?”

“Yeah. You’re in love with Titania. So let’s go.”

“Ranulf! Think about this. Titania.”

“Yeah.”

Ike sighed “I really don’t want to spell this out for you but surely you see some…issues with this right? She…I…we…”

Ranulf rolled his eyes “What issues? Let’s see…what is so wrong about Titania? If I may speak plainly, Commander.”

Ike scoffed at the sarcasm before Ranulf continued “Titania is drop dead gorgeous, I’m sure you can see that. She’s a powerhouse of destruction on the battlefield. She is wise. She is the kind of person you want at your side. She’s brilliant.”

Ike thought about Titania, “She is all that…and more…”

Ike looked back to Ranulf who just smirked as Ike ran a hand through his hair “Why did I just say that?”

“Because you know it’s true. You know everything about her as a person and you are clearly attracted to her as a man so…what’s the problem?”

“We’re…she and I…we’re like family…wouldn’t that-“

Ranulf scoffed “But you aren’t. Remember Micaiah and Sothe? They saw each other as brother and sister for quite a bit but they couldn’t ignore their own chemistry. They were doomed to fall in love and get married after all the time they spent together. That much was clear.”

“Maybe so but…that’s not the same here.”

“Yeah. It is.”

Ike sighed “Well then what about our age difference? We-“

“Age difference? Look who you’re talking to, Ike. We Laguz live longer and some mated couples are a decade or so apart and at times even more. Don’t even get me started on Dragon age differences. None of us ever bat an eye so pardon me for thinking that to be a weak excuse.”

“Ranulf, I’m not Laguz. We’re Beorc. Everywhere we’ve gone there have been people like us, like Beorc. We…if we were to be together, everyone would see how off it is…we-“

The Laguz shook his head and put a hand on Ike’s shoulder “Come on man. Other people? Now you’re just stretching.”

Ike tried to say something only for Ranulf to cut him off “I’m almost certain that I’ve developed feelings for Titania. That’s what you said. You know what that means? That you have feelings for Titania. All this that you’re saying now sounds more like you trying to convince yourself that you shouldn’t feel for her like this. Come on man, you fall for a woman and want to stop yourself from feeling it? That makes no sense!”

“Ranulf I…I just…” Sighing he looked down as Ranulf asked “She’s been at your side so long. If you don’t mind me asking I’d like to know when did you first see her this way?”

“I’m not sure…but you know the bet she won?”

“Yeah?”

“We went out to a place to eat and talk…and above all do what she wanted to do which was share a dance.”

“You two…danced together?”

“Yeah. That whole night I swear I stared at her more than I ever did before…I’m not blind I know she’s a beautiful woman but that night I just…couldn’t keep my eyes off of her. She looked incredible…and during our dances I…the strangest thoughts came to the back of my mind but I pushed them away because they didn’t make sense…”

Ranulf shook his head “She won a bet. She could have had you do anything and she uses it as an excuse to go out on a date with you?”

Ike faced Ranulf who smiled “Holy shit. We need to get you two to talk. Right now.”

“Ranulf…she’s been…what do I even say?”

The Laguz shrugged “I have no idea. But just tell her how you feel to start. Let her know how you feel. Given that of all things she went out on a date with you, I’m certain she feels the same. You are both on the cusp you just need to take that first step.”

Ike thought about the woman again. The very brief kiss forcing its way into his mind again.

“So, Ike? What’s it going to be?”

Taking a deep breath the man spoke “Let’s find Titania.”

Ranulf smiled “Brilliant! I already got her scent! Let’s move!”

“Wait…what? How?”

As Ranulf started moving he called out “It’s all over you!”

Ike started to say something but decided against it, instead he ran after the Laguz.

* * *

_Cliff Town, Oeldehm – Clock Tower_

“A patriot?” Uhnie asked.

Ezak nodded “Since he arrived in Benkanan a few months back he’s done nothing but improve the dominion all with King Wetka’s undying support.”

Oscar shook his head “This doesn’t match up.”

Boyd nodded “It definitely doesn’t.”

“What has he done for you exactly?” Shinon asked.

Sutne spoke up “Are any of you familiar with what happened in the Crown Land of Atro last month?”

They all shook their heads prompting Sutne to continue “Atro is ruled by the Crown Family. King Atro was a benevolent ruler, close friends with our own Oberez Wetka until a splinter group formed around a man named Teiaya Ute. This splinter group threw Atro into chaos, killing the entire Royal Family. A renowned troop from Qeen, The Thunder arrived to try and break their hold but failed and were captured. Oit had spent quite a bit of time boosting our military forces, citing that should anything ever happen we have to be ready. If Oit had not come to Benkanan when he did, we would have had no way of aiding our allied nation. But with him there we were able to move in, break the rebels’ hold on the dominion and kill most of them. The leader Ute escaped and Atro was stabilized, Wetka took his good friend’s title and now protects the land. Our remaining forces are now combing Zatuo to find the rebel leader before he can recruit others to his nefarious cause.”

“Well then I suppose it’s a good thing that you two know where he is, right?” Gatrie asked.

The pair nodded with Ezak speaking “Indeed it is. Our men should be all set to move to Tow.”

Sutne gestured to Uhnie, Shinon and Gatrie “Are you three still coming?”

Shinon nodded “Yeah. You all heading to one of the town exits?”

“The northeastern one. We’ll be there for a bit if you have any last things you need to take care of. Be quick though we don’t want him to escape.”

With that Ezak and Sutne walked away as Shinon looked to the others, Rolf speaking “I don’t know why but...”

“Something feels off?” Rolf nodded to Shinon who crossed his arms “Klein said that he, Erent, Oit and Jyuugo were up to something vile. Something that would kill countless people. So if Oit really is in Benkanan I think it’s safe to assume that he isn’t there to be a patriot.”

“Klein did change and he believes Erent did so as well.” Oscar said.

Mist nodded “Maybe we got lucky and Oit changed as well.”

Uhnie shrugged “Maybe. But we have to make sure, right?”

“How?” Gatrie asked.

Shinon gestured behind him where Ezak and Sutne went “We’re going to keep following these guys. We do still have to meet Teiaya and his friend but maybe we can gather more information on Oit on the way to Bryte. Are you four alright with heading for Benkanan?”

Mist nodded “Of course. We’ll go check and see if Oit is really on the up and up or not.”

Uhnie smiled “Then we have new tasks.”

“What about Erent and Jyuugo?” Boyd asked.

“Like we said before.” Shinon started “Just cause we’re doing something else doesn’t mean we have to stop searching for the other two.”

“Should we wait for Ike?” Rolf asked.

Uhnie sighed “I wish. But this is all going down now. We can trust Ike to take care of things on his end and if things get dicey we have each other. Last I checked, together we’re a family right? We’re unstoppable.”

Oscar smiled “Indeed we are. Alright. You three, stay safe.”

Gatrie nodded, shaking hands with the oldest brother “You four as well. We’ll see when this is all done.”

After a round of hand shaking and hugging the seven split up.

* * *

_Cliff Town Oeldehm – Outskirts Cave_

Taking their seats, the Mercenaries remained silent as Cadeera found her staff and came to Tyse’s side to heal his cuts from the gale and the burns.

“I’m glad I spend as much time here as I do. I keep leaving things here.”

Tyse chuckled “This might as well be our place with how often you’re here. Seriously, when was the last time you went to your actual home?”

“What can I say? I don’t like being away from you for too long. Oh no, I’m that clingy girlfriend aren’t I?”

Tyse laughed “No, you aren’t. I love you just the way you are.”

Putting the staff away she smiled before noting the Mercenaries and blushing “Oh I’m sorry…I forgot there were other people around. Pretend you didn’t hear any of that.”

“Why? It’s honestly very sweet.” Mia stated.

Cadeera thanked her before sitting next to Tyse who sighed again before noting each of the Mercenaries’ faces.

Zihark spoke up “How did the two of you end up together?”

Tyse looked at Cadeera who smiled “Oh it’s quite the story.”

“I’m not a fan of it.”

Soren looked to Tyse “Why?”

“It reminds me of how I was before. Have you met other vampires?”

“Many.” Leah said. “One of them is how we learned about you.”

“Klein Kruse?”

Titania nodded “We actually helped him and the other Five Pieces defeat the Order of Rein. They’re all gone.”

Tyse blinked and let out a heavy sigh “All gone…truly?”

The Mercenaries nodded as Mia spoke up “I killed Ulyus myself.”

Tyse couldn’t believe how relieved he felt. He thought he put that all behind him but clearly it was still weighing on him to this very moment. He bowed slightly to the group “Thank you…”

“No need to thank us. We did what was right.” Soren stated.

After a short silence, Tyse added “...and Klein?”

Soren sighed “Once everything was over, he let himself died. Content that his war against the Order was done.”

Tyse closed his eyes “He swore if there was one thing he’d do before he died it was wipe them out…good to know he did so. I hope he rests easy.”

The vampire then gestured to himself “So I’m the last one of this monstrous species?”

Leah spoke up “We can’t really say you’re monstrous as we barely know you but you are the last vampire.”

The man smirked “Maybe not but before I met Cadeera I was like all the other vampires…worse actually.”

Taking a deep breath he spoke “When I got here, the scent of new blood, the blood of the people of Zatuo drove me insane. I wanted it so bad. I tried to fight against it like my partner Klein did. I tried everything that I could but I couldn’t stop myself from hunting someone down and taking their blood. Once I had the blood I realized what I was doing and ran away, leaving my victim to fall and bleed on the ground…I did so several times in Nevrez before coming to Oeldehm…I couldn’t stand it.  I needed to get away from people so one stormy night I found this cave, and stood here…my desire for blood grew as the days went on but I refused to leave. I didn’t want to enjoy sucking the blood from innocent people…next thing I knew I was growing weaker…”

As he trailed off, Cadeera spoke up “Do any of you know what a Yartz is?”

The Mercenaries shook their head. “A Yartz is an institution run by and for all those who are magically inclined. It’s a place for those people to come together and study magic, improve their own magical abilities and so on. I was a member of one but I was also a free healer of the people. I went into town every chance I had to treat anyone I could find…a strange line of people came to me around the same time. They weren’t hurt but they found random people around with bloody necks claiming they were attacked by a monster. I treated them and tried to understand what kind of thing takes the blood of others and leaves them behind like trash. Following the line of attacks to Oeldehm I decided I needed to find and kill whatever this thing was.”

She couldn’t help but chuckle as she gestured at Tyse “Hard to believe this happened eh?”

Zihark shrugged “Not really.”

“I’m guessing you found him?” Titania asked.

“I did…but when I did…he was, for a lack of a better word: pathetic. He was so weak and curled up on the floor. He saw me and made no move to attack me or anything…he just ignored me. I came closer and asked him who he was.”

* * *

_“I’m a monster.”_

_“…do you have a name?”_

_“Monsters don’t have names.”_

_Cadeera made a move for a tome of hers but instead took out her staff to try and heal him “Did you attack-“_

_“People? Yes…I need blood to survive and I…I don’t meant to do it. But I can’t resist…”_

_Cadeera noted that her staff was not improving his condition at all. “Why can’t you resist?”_

_“The urge is too great…what changed me into this made me more…manic for it…if you are going to kill me, please do it now…”_

_Cadeera felt she should, at the very least it would prevent others from being attacked but she couldn’t help but feel for this man. She always joked with people that she had a good heart, perhaps too good but in this situation it seemed to be beyond true._

_Chuckling she shook her head “Why am I like this?”_

_The man looked to her “What?”_

_“I should kill you…but I want to help you. What can I do?”_

_He looked away, saying nothing._

_“You need blood?” She pulled her shirt aside to expose her neck “I’ll let you have some of mine if you promise not to attack anyone else okay?”_

_He looked up at her again “Why?”_

_“Like I said. I want to help you…and honestly, this is the kind of person I am. For better or worse.”_

_Bending down she got him to his feet though he still slumped against a wall._

_“The victims were always attacked in the neck area so…”_

_She gestured. The man shook his head but he could smell it and he wanted it. Taking a step forward, then another, Cadeera felt a bit nervous. None of the people he left behind died. Mostly because they were found and she healed him but-_

_Her thoughts came to a halt when she felt the teeth bite down on her neck. She groaned and clenched her teeth. After a few seconds she asked “Are you better?”_

_In response he bit down harder causing her to cry out in pain “H-hey! Stop!”_

_She tried to pull away which caused the man to grab one of her arms with a clawed hand while the other slashed deep into her torso. Yelling she tried to escape but the man’s strength was returning, gripping her tome she yelled again as a light flashed, stunning the vampire he tore away._

_Dazed from the blood loss she tried to run from the cave, looking down she saw a large bloody tear in her stomach and coughed blood before tripping over herself and falling to the ground. She could barely whisper for help as the man shook his head._

_Blinking away the confusion he looked to see the woman fallen on the ground. He realized how strong he felt and looked down to his hands, one covered in blood. Approaching the woman he heard her whispering for help._

_“I’m sorry I…I didn’t mean to…”_

_Realizing she could die here he bent down and picked her up, the woman groaning in pain “Please…don’t…”_

_Wings expanding he ran out of the cave and flew into the sky over the town. Spotting someone with a staff he landed near them and begged them for help. The other man was frightened by the creature before him as it laid a woman to the ground. Again he begged before flying away._

* * *

Cadeera stood up and gestured to her stomach, pulling aside her clothes to expose a long scar.

“…and you still came back?”

Cadeera nodded to Leah “I shouldn’t have. But I wanted to. I really wanted to help him. I was naïve. Stupid. But I couldn’t stop myself.”

“You really do have a good heart.” Mia said.

“Yeah…it makes me do dumb things. Though I never suffered for it until that day.”

Soren could see Tyse flinch at that and couldn’t help but see himself in that moment.

“Though I never held it against him…”

She smiled at Tyse who slowly looked over to her. This time Mia saw the familiarity and turning slightly she spotted Soren looking right at her. She couldn’t help but smile before turning her attention back to the couple before them.

* * *

_Entering the desolate cave again she called out “Hello? Are you still here?”_

_Seeing her the man shook his head and returned the shadows “Why did you come back!?”_

_Cadeera shrugged “I never got your name.”_

_The man laughed at that “Unbelievable. If I tell you my name will you leave?”_

_Again all she did was shrug prompting him to speak “My name is Tyse. Tyse Erent.”_

_“Cadeera Ien. From this day on, I’m going to help you.”_

_Tyse shook his head “No. You tried that already.”_

_“Yeah, without knowing anything about what I was doing. But now I do. I know what you need and how to give it to you and how to control you if things get out of hand. Let me help you. You don’t want to be a monster anymore do you, Tyse?”_

_Sighing he spoke “No. I don’t want to be a monster anymore…but what if-“_

_“You caught me off guard. It won’t happen again.”_

_“If it does?”_

_Cadeera just smiled “Then I’ll kill you.”_

_Tyse met her eyes and smiled back before laughing “You are a strange one.”_

_“So?”_

_“Fine…but I will not be responsible for what happens to you. I really hope you were serious about killing me because I still believe that to be the better option.”_

_“We’ll see.”_

_The two stood there in silence before Tyse sighed and whispered “I’m glad you’re still alive.”_

_She was a bit taken back by that but just smile “I am too honestly.”_

_The man couldn’t help but roll his eyes as she chuckled._

* * *

“From then on I helped him control the urges…it’s been working so well I think he only needs blood because his body wants it. I think he can live on normally without it.”

Soren shook his head “That’s impossible. Vampires need to it live…”

Cadeera shrugged as Tyse spoke “What I can remember from my time in the Order is that I was different in a few ways. In addition to being the strongest one ever made I needed more blood than most…”

“I think all that time he spent drinking blood made him not just crazy but horribly addicted. So I’ve been putting a limit on it. He’s been fine with just two or three…doses? From me.”

“Well you certainly look well kept…not…that I was…looking.” Mia commented, before coughing, Titania chuckling.

Cadeera joined in laughing as well while Tyse raised an eyebrow. “We all fall victim to verbal slips it seems.” Zihark commented.

Tyse fought off a small smile before continuing “I have felt much better as of late. Once again I need to clarify that what happened outside was just because of the panic and the new blood scent. When I heard there were foreigners from Hitenticul looking for me. I just…I didn’t want you to take me from Cadeera.”

The woman at his side smiled before embracing the vampire. Titania shaking her head “We have no intention of doing so Tyse. Thank you for sharing your story.”

He nodded “You are friends with Cadeera and you helped Klein. You deserve to know…now…I believe you had questions for me?”

The group nodded, Zihark speaking “Klein told us the names of your other two partners. Zijo Oit and Norad Jyuugo. We need to find them and stop whatever it is they’re up to.”

Tyse shook his head “I wouldn’t suggest that course of action. Those two are just as monstrous as I once was. Walk away.”

“We can’t do that.” Soren stated “We have to stop them.”

“Please. Tell us what you know about them.”

Tyse looked to Mia then to Cadeera “If you can help them Tyse. I highly recommend that you do it.”

Seeing the look in Cadeera’s eyes he nodded “Very well…but my warning still stands.”

Clearing his throat he continued “After escaping from the Order most of my memories were scrambled. I forgot quite a bit but since Cadeera aided me in cleansing myself I’ve started to remember more. Zijo Oit was the one of us who didn’t completely follow our mission. He was always being sidetracked by what he deemed would be more impressive feats to bring back to our leader.”

“None of you are the leader?” Soren asked.

Tyse shook his head “I’m afraid not. Klein Kruse, Zijo Oit, Norad Jyuugo and I were all working under someone else. I’m not blaming my memories on this because I remember this very clearly. Our leader had no name. So I can’t give you anything there.”

“No name?” Mia shook her head “That makes this harder.”

“I imagine so. Anyway our leader wanted the blood of powerful maniacs. Powerful evil souls. So that’s what we set out to do. Klein and I worked as one while Oit and Jyuugo worked together. Jyuugo was the only one of us who could keep Oit on his leash and moderately more on task. His plans. The ideas he had were sadistic in their complexity. Long form plans that would require us staying wherever we were far longer than we needed to be there so we ignored them and left despite his demands that the end result would be better than the blood out leader wanted.”

Titania crossed her arms “That makes sense. By the time we got to Thyremog and Hitenticul you all were long gone except for Klein and he forgot far too much about his original mission.”

“Hitenticul…we were captured there. I still can’t remember how that happened. I was sure Klein and I had our would-be captors dead to rights.”

Shaking his head Tyse sighed and continued “Norad Jyuugo on the other hand is a more basic man. He loves battle. He loves to be in the heat of the moment. He is a master of every single type of weaponry. If he comes across a new one he puts the time to mastering it and does so frighteningly quickly. He maintains his cold calculating nature even in the most dire of battles…he has all the strength in the world and an unmatchable wit to complement it. Basically he is a living weapon with a rational mind.”

“Sounds absolutely wonderful.” Zihark stated, shaking his head.

“Would you be able to tell us where they might be?” Leah asked.

Tyse shook his head “I’m afraid not. I don’t even know if they’re here. It’s not like we were given a list of lands to visit we were just told to go out and find people who matched the vague description our leader gave us.”

Soren sighed “What is it with people and collecting blood for nefarious purposes?”

Tyse chuckled “I honestly wish I knew why. Though if anyone is still aware of what the mission is it would be Zijo Oit and Norad Jyuugo.”

“Even so.” Leah gestured to the map “This place is really big. Nevrez, Oeldehm and Tekit are all in one corner together comfortably but there are swamps and forests all over Zatuo, a mountain range a desert…while I get why we are splitting up and searching I doubt we can just happen across those two.”

Zihark sighed “Unfortunately we have no other choice. We have no solid leads.”

At that moment, Titania cut in “Actually. I spoke with a local by the name of Enri Tous. Taking what he said and the timeline of Tyse’s arrival. About a month before Tyse got here, others from a similarly foreign place did as well.”

“Where?”

Looking to Soren, she answered “A port town in Dre.”

“Riskol.” The group looked to Cadeera “That is basically the Dre equivalent to Wan’s Nevrez. Nice port town that sees a few foreigners though in all honesty most foreigners land at Nevrez and Qeen’s port.”

“We did track down Gahnzo and Tohgum back in Wisin by asking around at the port.”

Soren nodded to Mia “Though we had Klein to help us. Would any of the controlling bodies in Riskol want to?”

The pair looked to Cadeera who tapped her chin “Dre is a Democracy. Shouldn’t be too hard to ask for permission on passenger logs from…when?”

“Five months ago.”

Cadeera smiled “Then definitely. That’s pretty old, I’m sure no one would be too worried about that. Granted the asking permission part might take a bit depending on what the local council of Riskol is up to but it’s worth a try.”

The group stood up with Leah speaking “Sounds like a great place to start.”

Cadeera moved over and picked up a map before joining them “Mind if I come with?”

“You sure?”

She nodded to Soren “Yep, anything to help.”

“Cadeera.”

She looked at Tyse “Don’t worry about me Tyse. I’ll be fine. Something tells me this lot is the best protection anyone could ask for.”

“We shouldn’t be getting involved with this. Oit and Jyuugo are dangerous.”

She nodded “I’m well aware. But I won’t be alone. Look if you really are worried then come along. Lend us a hand.”

“I can’t go out there!”

“Of course you can. You have it under control. Just believe in yourself.”

Tyse looked away as Cadeera faced the Mercenaries “Well then. To Riskol”

The group followed her out of the cave as she called back “I’ll be back when we’re wrapped up Tyse! See you soon! Love you!”

After a short silence, Tyse let out a heavy breath “Love you too.”

* * *

_Cliff Town, Oeldehm_

_“How do I start? Hello? Hey, Titania. Remember that kiss? No that’s all terrible. Do I wave? Come on Ike…just…just say it. Titania. I have feelings for you. That should be it…right?”_

“Geez Ike your face is just…you are really _really_ thinking right now.”

Ike chuckled “I know. I don’t want to walk into this blind…I can’t believe I’m even the slightest bit…ready…”

“Ike I think this has been a long time coming. Just let it happen.”

The hero nodded and prepared to say something more when the pair heard yelling. Turning they spotted a woman running towards them with several armed men on her tail yelling “Get her!” and “Move aside!” shoving civilians to the ground. Every so often the woman bumped past someone and quickly apologized.

Ranulf shook his head “What in the world is going on?”

As the woman checked behind her she ran into Ike “Are you alright?”

She just shook her head “I-“

“Hey!” The three looked to the guards who came to a stop, the man in the lead pointing at Ike and Ranulf “That woman is a fugitive from Atro! Send her to us right now or else!”

Ike stepped in front of her “For some reason. I don’t think that would be a wise move.”

“The only move is to move aside or be moved aside.” The man spat.

Ranulf stood next to Ike “That ain’t happening buddy.”

“This doesn’t concern you!” Raising their lances they charged forward, Ranulf shifting and kicking the weapons away before striking one man in the chest, throwing him to the ground.

Ike turned to the woman who spoke “Why are you-?”

Cutting her off, Ike turned her around and pushed her forward, moving with her “Just keep running!” Nodding she did so with Ike following shortly after. Ranulf threw another man to the floor before disengaging and following the other two.

“Accomplices! Get them! Now!” One guard yelled as he stood, the others rushing after the three escapees. Turning a corner they looked at an almost empty street, only a few civilians walking around. No sight of the runners.

The lead guard turned to his chief “Captain Vexx sir. They’re gone.”

Vexx clenched his fists “She’s gone. Damn it! The Pharaoh won’t be pleased.”

“We’ll keep looking sir.”

“Do so! Find her!”

Nodding the guards took off in random directions, Vexx moving on as well.

In a lonely, dark alley, Ranulf shifted back and stretched his legs before looking to the woman. “That was fun.”

“I…uh…thank you. Both of you. You really didn’t have to.”

Ike smirked “We don’t know how not to.”

“He speaks the truth.”

The woman tried to push her disorderly purple hair out of her face only for it to fall over again. She sighed, her similarly purple eyes scanned Ike and Ranulf very carefully as if to determine whether or not they really were kind hearted strangers or had some sort of agenda. She wore a bright blue robe tucked into her darker leggings leading to her violet heels. Clipped at her neck by a blue orb was a light blue cape that fell behind her, the back end of her hair tied to a similar orb, forming a small tail.

“Would it be too invasive to ask why they were after you?” Ranulf asked.

The woman sighed “I’m not sure…who are you two?”

“My name’s Ike and this is Ranulf. We’re foreigners from Tellius.”

“Oh…so…you just got here?”

Ranulf looked to the sun as it dipped lower over the horizon before addressing the woman “It will soon be our second night here.”

She let a smile come to her weary face before bowing “My name is Mertre Mordre. I thank you both wholeheartedly for aiding me. You really didn’t have to be I truly appreciate it.”

Ike crossed his arms “Are you of royal blood?”

“Hm? Uh…no…”

Ranulf chuckled “Not very convincing there Miss Mertre.”

“I apologize. I am…sort of…my…”

She then shook her head “I don’t want to involve you in anything.”

“Let me take a guess. Those men after you were from Benkanan right?”

Mertre looked to Ike and shook her head “No. They were from Atro.”

Now it was the blue haired hero’s turn to look terribly confused “What? But they said you were a fugitive from Atro.”

She nodded “I am.”

“But…wasn’t Atro conquered by Benkanan? Why would they be chasing one of their own?”

“You know about that? How?”

“Yeah Ike…am I missing something here?”

He looked to Ranulf first then back to Mertre “On my first day here I met a man named Hyte Comdoe who told me about it. I was asking out of concern because of everything we’ve been through.”

Ranulf chuckled “That makes sense. Thyremog and Hitenticul were rather crazy.”

“Hyte Comdoe…”

“You know him?” Mertre nodded to Ike “I’m out here looking for Teiaya.”

Ike and Ranulf raised an eyebrow the former speaking “Teiaya? I’m afraid we don’t know that name.”

“He’s a rather dark man, wears a large hat and has very unruly hair covering his face. He has the regal red and blue colors along his clothes and-“

“That sounds an awful lot like the guy we ran into a while back.”

Ike looked to Ranulf “Does it?”

“It does. You were just lost in thought about Titania and couldn’t see what was right in front of you.”

“I was not!”

Ranulf looked back at Mertre “He was looking for Ewata and Atzu Leer. Not sure why.”

Mertre smiled “Those are indeed his friends. If he was looking for them he must be bringing his Liberators together for a meeting. That’s good. Thank you.”

With that the woman began walking away, Ranulf and Ike following the latter asking “Where are you going?”

“To see a friend. Someone who may know where they are meeting.”

“Alone?”

She nodded “I’ll be fine. With any luck those men will be stuck here for too long and I’ll slip out.”

“Where to?”

She came to a stop and faced the pair “I thank you again for the aid but I really don’t want to involve you two anymore than you have been. Things are going to get far worse and you can not be there when it does.”

Ranulf crossed his arms “So what do we do when we see you walk five feet and fall over?”

The woman’s eyes widened “What?”

“You look exhausted.” Ike stated “You clearly haven’t slept…possibly since you left Atro and given its placement on the map…it’s been a while.”

She looked down and sighed “I have to see Teiaya. As I said our situation is escalating quickly and things are about to get very bad…I need him to try again. Now more than ever.”

“Then we’ll go with you.” Ike said.

She shook her head as Ranulf smirked “We’re going to go anyway.”

“No. Please…you-“

She was cut off by a yawn forcing itself out of her. Looking to the pair she blushed as Ike laughed “Well that settles it. We’re going to make you slow down. If the reason you need to meet this Teiaya is as serious as it sounds then you can’t do it when you look like you’re about to pass out.”

“…I suppose you are right.”

Ranulf looked out into the street carefully, he could not make out any of the soldiers from Atro. “It’s clear now, we can get going.”

As the Laguz walked out into the street, Ike and Mertre followed with the woman bowing slightly “Again I feel that I must thank you both for helping me…there really was no reason for you to do so but I appreciate it.”

Ranulf chuckled “That’s kind of our thing. Since we left our home we’ve been aiding strangers we’ve met.”

Ike nodded “But they’re all good people…it’s easy to see they just want what’s best for their homelands but with so much working against them it just feels good to help them attain the peace they want. The peace like the one we granted our own home.”

“You sound absolutely benevolent…I assume you don’t do this all alone?”

Ike smiled “Of course not. We have a group. In fact we’re spread all over Oeldehm right now on a mission that for all intents and purposes we received back in Thyremog.”

“Oh? What is the mission?”

“We’re looking for three guys. All we have is their names: Tyse Erent, Zijo Oit and Norad Jyuugo.” Ranulf stated, his ear twitching as he heard a gasp.

He and Ike looked to Mertre whose eyes were fairly wide. She looked like she couldn’t believe what they just said.

Ike raised an eyebrow “What’s wrong?”

“Zijo Oit. Why would you know that name? Are you Benkanan?”

Ranulf shook his head “We just said that we’re not from here.”

Mertre nodded “Right…right.”

“We don’t even know which way Benkanan is…actually that’s a lie. It’s to the west. But I only know that cause I saw it on the map, I swear.” Ranulf added causing Ike to roll his eyes and mutter “Smooth.” The Laguz just gave him a toothy grin before seeing the uncertainty in Mertre’s eyes.

“It’s like we said Mertre. The King of Thyremog, a man named Lytros asked us to find a group of men who escaped his land and we learned their names in Hitenticul. We know that the three we are looking for came here and we need to find them. It could really help us if you told us what you knew.”

Mertre took a deep breath “I don’t know if I should but...Zijo Oit is part of the reason why I need to find Teiaya…he is…”

As Mertre trailed off Ranulf crossed his arms “So if we help you get to Teiaya, he can help us get to Oit? Or should we just leave you here and head for Benkanan ourselves?”

“Ranulf!”

The Laguz chuckled “I’m just kidding. Mertre, our desire to track down Oit is only to protect…possibly everyone from whatever it is he wants.”

Mertre nodded “I know…it’s just…there’s a lot. I know you want answers and I would give them to you but it all ties back to Teiaya and he…I don’t want to say anything about him for his protection.”

Ike nodded “If it’s that sensitive then don’t say anything. We’ll speak with him when we find him. You said you had a friend who may know where Teiaya is, right?”

“I did…she’s in Bryte, in the Tow Union.”

Ike opened his map as Ranulf observed the buildings ahead and spotted an inn. Looking from the map Ike spot “That is quite a distance but we’ll do it.”

“First you are going to need an extra-long nap.”

Mertre looked to Ranulf then back to Ike. Sighing again she nodded “Can I truly trust the two of you? You aren’t planning to betray me…are you?”

Ike shook his head “What would we gain from that? We came to Zatuo only to find the men we told you about and get some answers. Even if you knew nothing about Oit we’d still help you. We don’t have any stakes in anything else going on in this land. We swear.”

Ranulf nodded as Mertre’s eyes found him. The three began walking towards an inn “Alright…thank you…”

“Though I’m guessing even in gratitude we won’t be getting any answers as to why men from Atro were chasing a woman from Atro are we?”

She smiled at Ike “I’m afraid not. Rest assured I only have Zatuo’s best interests at heart.”

* * *

_Elsewhere_

“That blew.”

“Big time.”

Blood Rose shook her head, her wild red ponytail swinging about. As she untied it Teiaya examined his surroundings, just stray civilians. The strangers that were after him were nowhere in sight and he couldn’t see a single Benkanan sigil on any of the town guards.

Shaking her hair free, she gave it an extravagant flip as Teiaya faced her. Pulling off her mask she smiled at him “How do I look?”

“Less threatening.”

“Oh darling that is a mistake.”

Teiaya smirked “One most men seem to fail to learn.”

Chuckling, Blood Rose pulled off her heavy cloak and blades “I’m glad you were able to realize the mistake early on.”

“I’m just glad you had an open mind.” Teiaya fired back.

Folding her clothes she tossed her hair about again as the man asked “Those people. On the roof…what were they talking about?”

“It seems Hell Rain found them. Not good. But I swear that-“

“You had nothing to do with it. I believe you, you’d never act in such a way. You best people in combat face to face.”

She smiled “Indeed I do. So Teiaya. Where to?”

He crossed his arms “We can’t meet here. Too many variables…I think we need to see Rham again. Maybe this time-“

“Teiaya. The Iron Titan is solid on their stance of staying out of it. You can’t keep going to Fyst he-“

“Ufernia! We need his help! His experience! His numbers!”

The woman sighed “I know we do but-“

“We have to wipe them out! All of them! Avenge Atro and destroy that traitorous King! We can’t do it alone!”

Ufernia fell silent as Teiaya turned away, the man muttered a low apology.

“Well then we have to send word that we’re heading for Bryte. Did you ever find the Leer siblings?”

“No…didn’t get much of a chance. Either way…there is nothing more for us here. Let’s keep moving.”

“Always moving.”

Nodding to each other Ufernia and Teiaya proceeded, leaving Oeldehm and heading for Bryte as night fell on the city.

* * *

_The Benkanan Republic_

_Benkanan Keep_

“Wesa. Noet. Prepare the troops.”

The pair turned to face Oit, Wesa speaking “Already? I thought-“

“We’re moving to stop the rebels…the other plans can wait. If we deal with this, we can do whatever we want.”

As Wesa nodded, Noet spoke up “But why do we want to?”

Oit approached Noet, whispering “Because we do.”

Noet nodded slowly “Right. We’ll prepare the army. What of the Blood Watch?”

“Leave that and the Triad to me. Go on.”

Following the pair’s departure Oit entered the Keep and stood before doors he ordered everyone to stay away from. Opening it up he peered inside to see a large suit of black, bloodstained armor.

“Heydhar Otzen.”

The helmet moved to face him “…kill…”

“Soon Heydhar. Soon.”

“…blood…”

The suit of armor moved slightly. Oit smiling as it stood and faced him, massive black lance in hand. “…pain…”

“All that and more Heydhar. Soon…until then it would be best for you to remain calm.”

The suit of armor stood in place as Oit turned to see Yakaan approaching “I trust you have Singularity under better control than you did in the initial battle…do you?”

The old man bowed “Yes sir I’ve been putting all my time into mastering this tome I can now, much more reliably form and control tears.”

“Are you certain? We don’t want to lose more of our own men to your inexperience.”

The sorcerer cackled “It was a learning experience Zijo. You of all of us should understand that! I’m a true genius when it comes to ancient magic…Seid Magic. Whatever this tome’s original purpose was, it will serve me as your Dyeshein and Heydhar’s Ijhalma does.”

The Commander crossed his arms “You talk big. I was right in my assumption that you seek to make Yakaan Kualan a name no one will forget.”

“Just point me to the rebels Zijo and I’ll end them all in one fell swoop.”

As Yakaan started laughing again a wicked smile came to Oit’s face “Well done then.”

He gestured into the room “Prepare Heydhar. Everything is proceeding far ahead of schedule.”

Yakaan bowed “Of course…I take it that the source came through?”

“Indeed he did. I don’t think Ezak and Sutne have what it takes to end this but they’ll keep the rebels on the run…with no time to form together they’ll be easily crushed.”

“Unotch?”

“Leave Tehm to me. He shouldn’t be too far off perfecting his aim as always.”

Yakaan brought his hands together, excitement evident “This will be the second time we all deploy together…I can’t wait to see the terror in their eyes all over again.”

Oit smirked “Neither can I…and above all once the rebels are dead true chaos will rain down on Zatuo.”


	38. Lies, Connection, Path

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shinon's group finds the rebels. Soren's group pursues a lead. Ike's group begins their trek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy 23rd birthday to me!  
> 08/19/2015  
> Woo!

**C hapter 37 – Lies, Connection, Path**

_The Tow Union_

_Shining City, Bryte_

It was the afternoon of the next day when Uhnie, Shinon and Gatrie found themselves approaching Bryte with Ezak and Sutne’s Benkanan brigade. The three were incapable of gaining any new information from Ezak and Sutne the whole way over. Both men just reaffirmed Zijo Oit’s goal was to bring peace to Zatuo and that the rebels that attempted to conquer Atro were preparing another uprising.

Why would they want to overthrow the King of Atro? Why would they want to dismantle Bryte? Ezak and Sutne insisted that the reasons didn’t matter, the rebels were essentially terrorists and unless they wanted Zatuo’s peace to be shattered they needed to eliminate them.

“So where exactly in Bryte should these rebels be meeting?” Shinon asked.

Sutne spoke up “We were told they would be at the original Bryte Tavern. A popular spot for the retired soldiers of the once famed Iron Titan.”

“A tavern eh? Odd but definitely the kind of spot for rebels to meet in secret.” Gatrie said as Uhnie nodded “Where is it?”

“Head down the main road and go east. It is the fifth business down that line and should have a banner along the front reading ‘The Original’.” Ezak answered causing Shinon to raise an eyebrow.

“Are you all not coming with?”

Sutne shook his head “There is a wild accusation many throw around that Benkanan is not an agent of peace. As such we feel they may be less likely to cooperate if they see any of us. All of you however are foreigners so they shouldn’t feel threatened. We’re not interested in the Tavern. Just the rebels hiding in or near it.”

Shinon, Gatrie and Uhnie nodded before walking away, the woman crossing her arms “This feels wrong…”

Shinon agreed “I say we trust our instincts. Benkanan is anything but on the up and up. We’re not going to get any straight answers out of those guys. They’re just a horde of yes-men for Zijo Oit.”

“Think the rebels will tell us something we don’t know?” Gatrie asked.

The marksman shrugged as Uhnie spoke up “Either way. A better understanding of this situation shouldn’t hurt. Not to mention we have our own reasons for wanting to talk with this Teiaya Ute.”

Locating the Tavern, the three looked to each other and nodded before entering. Given the time of day it wasn’t too busy, several ragged older soldiers were seated against one wall talking amongst themselves while the back wall was home to ordinary citizens enjoying a meal. The woman behind the counter spotted the three new arrivals and waved them over while displaying a large smile.

“Well then! A mighty fine hello to you lot. Don’t think I’ve seen any of you round here before.”

Shinon spoke up “First time in Bryte actually.”

The woman laughed “Well you picked the best possible spot to drop by! Unless you heard of us before? Highly likely that’s the case.”

“Indeed it is, though I never expected to see such a beautiful attendant.” Gatrie stated, pushing past Shinon and winking.

The woman laughed “Oh my. Aren’t you a bold one?”

Gatrie smiled as Shinon whispered “Did you forget what we’re here for?”

“Oh I definitely did.”

The woman just smiled at them, she had short brown hair that stopped just above her neck which had a silver chain all around it. There was joy in her green eyes that matched to her olive open jacket exposing her white shirt beneath. Her tanned skin definitely made her out to be someone who was out and about quite a lot.

“Well my name is Kit, who are you lovely folks?”

“I am the unmatchable Gatrie! A pillar of stout strength!”

As the man flexed and Kit laughed Shinon and Uhnie introduced themselves in a more normal manner.

“Alright then. Shinon. Gatrie. Uhnie. Would the three of you like to try our house special? It is simply breathtaking!”

“I lost my breath as soon as I saw you.”

As Kit laughed to Gatrie’s statement again, Shinon shook his head “No thanks. We’re actually here looking for someone.”

The woman tilted her head “Oh? Who?”

“Teiaya Ute.” Uhnie stated. The other woman looked at them oddly “Say that again. Teiaya…”

“Ute. Teiaya. Ute.” Shinon repeated, noting every bit of the woman’s expression as she shook her head “I’m terribly sorry but I know no one by that name. If you’d like-”

“Bullshit.” Shinon muttered “I can see it in your eyes, you know who we’re talking about.”

“No. I don’t.”

“We really need to speak with him and Blood Rose.”

Kit looked to Uhnie “It doesn’t matter how urgent it is. I can’t help you if I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Shinon rolled his eyes “Come on! Give us something!”

Gatrie put a hand on Shinon’s shoulder to try and calm him down as Kit crossed her arms “You three said you were foreigners…was that a lie?”

“No it wasn’t. But as we said this matter is very _very_ urgent for us and we need to know where-“

Before Uhnie could finish a deep voice came from behind “These people bothering you Kit?”

The three turned to see an older man and two of his compatriots behind them. Kit shook her head “No. They were just leaving.”

Shinon looked past the three to see the other old soldiers were indeed looking right at them while the civilians continued talking amongst themselves, unaware of what was transpiring. Sighing Uhnie tapped Shinon and Gatrie’s shoulders before walking away, the marksman following as Gatrie turned to Kit again “I will not give up the pursuit!”

Kit let a small smile come to her face as Gatrie bowed to her and followed his comrades.

* * *

Beneath the tavern Teiaya and Ufernia stood with the leader of the Iron Titan: Fyst Rham and his close comrade Whir Kal.

“Look. Teiaya. We’ll provide you and your Liberators with a place to eat and rest but we can’t provide the rebellion with support.”

Teiaya spat “That’s bullshit and you know it! The men and women of the Iron Titan have unparalleled strength and determination! Retired or not they can still fight!”

Whir shook his head “We _are_ retired Teiaya. It’s not a matter of yes or no.”

“We told you what happened in Atro, Fyst. That is coming for Bryte! Your home! Where your family is!” Ufernia added.

The leader crossed his arms “Why would Benkanan want to expand over all of Zatuo? Why would they want to absorb Atro? Zatuo can’t be ruled by one land, it was such in the ancient days and fell apart because of it.”

Teiaya clenched his fists “Those were the ancient days. This is the Benkanan of now. The Wetka of now. He and his armies won’t be satisfied with just Atro!”

Fyst sighed “Teiaya. We’ve been over this many times before…I don’t want to get involved. The Iron Titan can’t get involved. We’re done fighting.”

“Then you will all die.”

“Is that a threat Teiaya?” Whir stated before looking to Ufernia “You believe that too?”

“We’ve actually seen what Benkanan is capable of. This isn’t just a matter of defeating Benkanan but also protecting everything you hold dear!” The woman said “You need to trust us!”

“Trust a man with a fake name? A man with an unknown history? How do I know that what you want is best for Atro? For Zatuo?”

Teiaya leaped across the table and rammed his fist into the bigger man’s face, throwing him to the ground before drawing his blades and placing them on either side of Fyst’s throat.

Whir made a move for his axe but was stopped by Ufernia as Teiaya spoke “Don’t you dare accuse me of anything Fyst. I have nothing to lose and if I can kill you and Whir and convince the rest of the Iron Titan that Benkanan did it…you better believe that I fucking will. I’ll take your troops into battle myself and save our land. Something you were far too shortsighted to do!”

Fyst clenched his teeth “You wouldn’t.”

“Try me old man! When I say I have nothing to lose…you have no choice but to believe it to be true.”

“Teiaya.” He looked to Ufernia then to Fyst. Sheathing his blades he walked away “I’m going to protect Zatuo by destroying Benkanan and killing the false King and his guardsmen. The world will be better for it and you should join me…put yourself on the right side of history Fyst.”

Whir moved to Fyst’s side as the man spat “Join with someone as unstable as you? You’d sooner lead us into a battle that will get us all killed and justify it in that we will become martyrs for a third rebellion. One in which more innocents will die for a cause that was lost to the ages…”

Teiaya shook his head “You don’t understand Fyst. I’ve tried to show you my way and you continue to refuse it. I’ll ask you once more before I go with my second plan.”

Whir chuckled “You aren’t going to kill us.”

Teiaya glared at the man. Swallowing nervously Whir pulled Fyst up and walked a few feet away.

* * *

“So?”

Shinon shook his head as Uhnie spoke “It really seemed like the last thing they wanted to do was help us out with finding Teiaya.”

“They know the name but they don’t know us.” Shinon added “We won’t be learning anything about where he is.”

Ezak crossed his arms as Sutne appeared, tapping the man’s shoulder and showing him another note. Ezak read it over “Well then. It seems that it doesn’t matter if they tell us or not. We’ve got expanded orders and it is time to follow through. Sutne did the Bryte branch get the first note while we were in Oeldehm?”

Sutne nodded “They all formed up on the opposite side.”

Ezak and Sutne walked past Shinon’s group as Gatrie called out “What are you doing?”

Ezak kept moving with the troops while Sutne turned “We’re going to move in and kill every single person in that tavern. Want to lend a hand?”

Smiling Sutne joined the rest of the troop in moving towards the tavern, Shinon turned to face Uhnie as Gatrie asked “What…what do we do?”

Uhnie crossed her arms. There were many debates and they all had pros and cons but there was no time to consider everything.

“We’re not allied with anyone yet but there are innocent people in the tavern.”

Shinon nodded “So we’re going to help them escape and fend off Benkanan’s attack.”

The woman smiled as Gatrie sighed “This is gonna suck.”

* * *

“We’re leaving now Kit, hope the rest of the day is good for you.”

Kit smiled and nodded to the man “Moon will be upon us soon but thank you.”

After the man left she sighed “Dad…what are you doin down there?”

Crossing her arms she thought about heading under and speaking with him herself. Teiaya could be difficult but she could see he had everyone’s best interest at heart. He just buried it far too deep for his own good. Nodding to herself she prepared to move when the door opened and a man in armor with the Benkanan sigil on his chest walked in.

“Excuse me. I would like to know where Teiaya Ute is.”

“I’m afraid I am not familiar with the name sir. Now if you would kindly-“

Holding his hand up he made a signal. The windows next to him burst in as several more soldiers entered the building. The first man called out “I am Commander Sutne Palk of the Benkanan Republic and everyone in this establishment is to be judged as rebel sympathizers! The punishment being death.”

Without pause the soldiers moved for the seated veterans and began to impale them with their weapons, several barely made it out of their chairs before being stabbed to death.

One man headed for Kit who grabbed onto the counter and flipped herself over it, kicking him in the face. Pulling a knife out from her jacket she fell on the man and stabbed him through the skull before jumping away from another.

“Kill them all!” Sutne yelled, the soldiers responding with a unanimous “Yes sir!”

* * *

Below, Teiaya, Ufernia, Fyst and Whir all looked up as they heard screaming and steel striking steel. Teiaya clenched his fists “They found us.”

“How?” He shook his head to Ufernia as Fyst ran past them, grabbing his axe. “Fyst!”

“I won’t let them have my daughter!”

Teiaya pulled out his blades followed by Ufernia as Whir lifted his axe, the three followed the Iron Titan leader.

* * *

Back above several of the Iron Titan soldiers were able to retrieve their concealed weapon and began fighting back against the Benkanan troops. Kit made a note that there were not as many as she feared inside but the structure wasn’t built to handle all this. They needed to push the battle outside.

As Kit struck down another soldier a lance cut across her arm causing her to curse and jump away. An Iron Titan troop ran past her and slammed another Benkanan soldier to the ground. Spinning her dagger she fell upon the soldier and killed him before calling out to the Iron Titan soldiers “Force them out of the building and keep the civilians safe!”

There were several affirmations as the woman looked back to the terrified innocents hiding behind a pair of Iron Titan men who struck back against approaching Benkanan men. Despite the cuts they would take from the spears it was easy enough for one man to smash another to the ground, allowing his comrade to kill him.

Hearing a yell she turned, one of her allies fell to the ground with a spear headed for them. Dashing in she struck the weapon aside and flipped over, kicking the soldier in the face.

“Kit!”

Turning she spotted her father who threw his axe past her into the stunned man, killing him. Skidding to halt near her he ripped the weapon out and struck another soldier “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. What about-“

Teiaya leapt over them at that point, throwing a tome in the air he held his blades out. A black mist emerged from the tome and covered his blades. Yelling he shot forward, the mist around his blade shaped itself into the blade, making the weapons three times longer. Swinging both blades out, he cut through three men before jumping and kicking off another. Landing on the ground he spun about, the black blades flashing and cutting clean through several more men.

“There he is!” Sutne yelled, commanding more of his men to aim specifically for Teiaya. Ufernia leapt out at that point, landing in front of the Rebel leader she threw several knives at the approaching soldiers before dashing forward and gutting one with her blades.

Fyst stood up straight with Kit as Whir joined them. Fyst noted the other Iron Titan soldiers “Get these fuckers out of my tavern!”

“Yes sir!” With unparalleled fury the Iron Titan pushed back the remaining Benkanan troops, Sutne leaving the ruined establishment as Teiaya struck down another of his soldiers. “You aren’t getting away with this!” Teiaya yelled before exiting the building, the others right on him.

As soon as they ran outside, Ufernia cursed. A massive battalion was waiting for them with a long line of archers at the ready near Sutne and another commander. “Took you long enough to get them out here Sutne.”

“Well here they are.”

“Indeed. Rebels. I am Ezak Roun…and I now order your execution.”

As he raised his arm, a smoke bomb exploded near the archers. Arrows from elsewhere struck several soldiers near the Iron Titan as Gatrie emerged from the crowd, using his shield to bash several men to the side.

Uhnie shot out of the smoke as Shinon landed near her. The Benkanan Troops that could still see charged at the two, Uhnie pulling out Scarlet and shooting across the clearing, impaling several of the soldiers. Flipping away from several poorly aimed arrows she landed near another soldier and struck him down as well.

Meanwhile Shinon pulled back on his bow and shot another man dead before calling out to the rebels “Hey! Don’t just stand there!”

Teiaya gestured to the Iron Titan “They’re killing your comrades. Destroying your home. Will you continue to say this isn’t your fight!?”

The Iron Titan yelled in response and charged into the smoke, axes cleaving through Benkanan soldiers, slamming them to the ground and ripping them apart. Ufernia smirked at Teiaya before following the Iron Titan into the smoke, slicing several archers’ throats open.

Fyst gripped his axe tighter, he didn’t like how quickly they took to Teiaya’s lead but the threat was here now. He’d worry about that later. He looked to Kit and Whir, nodding before roaring and charging into the fray with them at his side.

Jumping away, Shinon chuckled as a spear struck the ground near him. Two men charged him only for Gatrie to rush in, throwing them to the ground with a powerful shield bash while yelling “Thunder!”

Shinon fired an arrow past Gatrie into an approaching soldier’s eye “Lightning.” Gatrie swung his great lance around, clipping a soldier’s arm, spinning them around before they fell to the ground. Uhnie landed near the pair, sinking her knives into the two fallen men before drawing Scarlet again and shooting off in another direction.

“Gatrie!” The man turned to Shinon who made a few hand signals, Gatrie nodded and held his shield up as Shinon ran at it, as soon as he struck it, Gatrie pushed on it, shooting Shinon into the sky. Smirking he began firing rapidly on the soldiers in the distance, downing the all before they could get near Gatrie or the Iron Titan.

He landed near Teiaya who moved past him and swung his magic blades around, searing through a heavily armored man who screamed in pain before taking a blade through the face. Teiaya dodged a few arrows from several archers as Ufernia found them, snapping their necks before moving to the next location.

Swinging his magic blades again, Kit ran by him, leaping effortlessly over the long weapons and tackling a soldier to the ground. Standing from him as Fyst and Whir’s axes flew by, striking one man in rapid succession.

Sutne and Ezak watched as their men continued to get overwhelmed. Ezak clenched his teeth “Those foreigners…how dare they use us like this…”

“…and to think they knew our Commanders name…and we told them.”

Ezak’s eyes widened “They need to die above all else. Right now. Where is-“

“They’ll be here soon.”

Ezak cursed as he watched the rebels cut down another line of his soldiers as the smoke from Uhnie’s bomb dissipated.

Ducking from a blow, Shinon pulled an arrow out of his quiver and rammed it into the attacking soldier’s throat before kicking the body away. Seeing a blade coming for him he back flipped out of range. Gatrie moved in at that point and blocked the second strike as a man with a hammer charged Gatrie from behind.

Kit ran by in a flash, slicing through the man’s stomach before flipping about and burying her dagger in his skull. Killing the swordsman, Gatrie turned to Kit “You sure look like you can handle yourself, looks like my initial impression was right.”

Kit laughed “You sure didn’t act like you thought I was a warrior.”

Gatrie shrugged “I know better than to think otherwise in my line of work.” The woman smirked before leaping past him and killing another soldier.

Meanwhile Uhnie shoved her blade through a man, as he screamed she pulled out a knife and cut through his neck. Tearing Scarlet out of him she spun around quickly and cut through an oncoming soldier’s leg, tripping him. At that moment Ufernia landed on the man and stabbed him in the back with her blades. Pulling her weapons out she spun them around and looked over to Uhnie who took out a few more smoke bombs and threw them towards several lines of Benkanan troops.

“Not bad.” Ufernia commented as she cut through another soldier.

“I can’t die here. Not until I’ve hit you a few more times.”

Ufernia rolled her eyes “Hit me? What did I ever do to you?”

Uhnie and Ufernia dove aside as two axes slammed into the ground where they were, Uhnie speaking “Teiaya had a black cloaked, red haired woman with him. You may have less armor and your hair isn’t tied up…but I’m pretty sure you’re Blood Rose.”

Ufernia slashed a soldier’s throat open “No point in denying it. But as I said before I’ve never spoken with Hell Rain. Ever. Why in the world would I do that?”

Uhnie rolled aside from a blade and grabbed onto a man from behind, snapping his neck “So that there would be less of us…isn’t that the point?

“I’m kind of in the middle of this whole Zatuo Rebellion thing, been wrapped up in it since the beginning to be honest.”

Ufernia shot past Uhnie stabbing another soldier dead as Uhnie spoke “You tracked down Quick Foot and Hell Rain. I’m sure you can multitask.”

“I was here on Shade War business and then all this came out, I have no time to focus on that anymore.”

Moving aside as a soldier tried to gore them, the pair sunk their blades into him with ease. Ripping them back out of the corpse as Uhnie commented “Well Quick Foot is dead, wasn’t quick enough to escape Hell Rain who slowed him down for us before marking us.”

Kicking the body away Ufernia faced her “I’m sorry that Hell Rain marked you but you have to believe me. I said nothing to him. The fact that he found you or found Quick Foot just has me thinking he was after him too. No one liked the guy, remember? It was an unfortunate coincidence.”

Gatrie covered the pair with his shield, arrows bouncing off of it as Teiaya leapt over the Marshall, swinging one of his magic blades wide, decapitating two archers.

“Uhnie! We could use a bit more support around.”

She nodded “I’m well aware.”

She eyed Ufernia again who sighed “If someone did let Hell Rain know, it wasn’ me. Besides what would happen to me if I did go find Hell Rain? You think he’d take the info and let me walk? He loves killing and he loves killing Shades over everything else. I like living too much to try and work with a psychopath.”

With that Ufernia charged into the fray, Uhnie sighed but before she could follow a powerful torrent sucked in all the smoke, pulling it away from the battlefield to reveal an even bigger Benkanan battalion.

“Shit! They received reinforcements!” Shinon called out.

Uhnie and Gatrie fell back from the front lines to Fyst, Kit and Whir’s location, where the leader of the Iron Titan called his men to fall back. Ufernia noticed the soldiers retreating and called out to Teiaya “We have to back off!”

Seeing the backs of their enemies more Benkanan troops surged forward, striking down the retreating forces. “Teiaya! We’re done here! We have to go!”

Spitting, Teiaya sunk his blades into the earth and took out his tome, swinging his arm a large black fog shot out and covered the entire Benkanan force. The wind mages quickly began to conjure another torrent as Ufernia grabbed Teiaya’s arm and began pulling him towards the others.

“I’m sure you all saw how many of them there are.” Shinon commented.

Fyst nodded “Far too many. We have to get out of here.”

Teiaya shook his head “No! We fight! Break their lines!”

“With these numbers?” Uhnie yelled at Teiaya “We’ll get overrun eventually! Do what you want but we aren’t getting killed here!”

“We won’t die! We’ve already been holding our line! We just need to push against them and into them! We can wipe this force out now and give ourselves a bigger advantage in the next fight!”

Shinon approached the man, Ufernia blocking him “This is no time to argue about anything!”

“Well talk some sense into him! We aren’t dying here!”

Gatrie looked to Fyst, Whir and Kit “Is there a way to get out of this?”

Kit nodded “There is an underground path we can use to get out of the city, it’s below the tavern.

The black fog cleared out to reveal the reformed line of archers that let loose a wave of arrows, striking down several Iron Titan soldiers. Gatrie covered Kit and Fyst as Uhnie, Ufernia and Teiaya slashed through as many as they could. The mages followed up, using a group gale to throw many of the rebels to the ground before letting loose a rain of fire.

Several Iron Titan soldiers were lit up and began running around screaming only to be cut down by Ezak and Sutne, their entire brigade advancing and slicing through most of the Iron Titan.

“We go now!” Fyst yelled, running back to the tavern followed by everyone else as Teiaya cursed, sheathing his weapons.

Ezak yelled at his soldiers “Keep attacking and move forward! We kill them all now!”

More arrows and magic rained down on the retreating rebels as they entered the tavern and proceeded underground. The Benkanan soldiers right on their tail. Kit directed the group through a makeshift tunnel. Shinon looked over his shoulder in time to see Benkanan troops entering the tunnel as well. Aiming he shot a soldier dead, as the body fell over several more troops tripped over it but even more continued coming.

“We have to stop them somehow!”

Teiaya sighed before pulling out his tome and spinning around, firing off a small black orb into the ceiling followed quickly by another. As the rebels continued running, Teiaya continued sending bolts into the ceiling above them, the structure groaning in response. One last one caused a chain reaction as the structure gave way and all the earth it was holding back began to rain down and seal up the tunnel. Benkanan soldiers screamed as they were buried alive. The rebels barely outrunning the collapse as they emerged from the tunnel into an empty chamber with a series of staircases that would lead them back to the surface.

* * *

“…we lost them…sirs.”

The soldier bowed as Ezak cursed “Of course they brought down the tunnel. We won’t get lucky again, we just lost them for good.”

Sutne crossed his arms “We’re going to have to let Commander Oit know.”

Ezak cursed again “He isn’t going to be happy. Form up the remaining soldiers and let’s do a count on what we lost and what we have.”

The soldier bowed and walked away as Sutne spoke “I’ll send a report to Oit and ask about what our brigade should do now.”

Ezak growled “We’ll probably get thrown in the dungeon for letting down all of Benkanan. We had ample opportunity to end the Rebellion here and we lost it all…”

“I also feel I need to remind you of this third party. Those strangers.”

Ezak tapped the side of his head “Strangers from another land who know about Commander Oit and who we told them about…yes I remember. Forget the dungeon we’re going to get executed for our stupidity.”

Sutne pulled out a form and began writing his report “I’ll let him know how sorry we are…I’ll give him everything we have on them. With any luck we can track these people down too, kill them and everything will be right again.”

As the man began writing and walked away, Ezak nodded “Hopefully. Until then…”

Turning he signaled some of the nearby mages and pointed at the Tavern. Nodding the mages let loose several streams of fire. Ezak watched as the flames spread and began to eat through the building. It wouldn’t make him feel better about their failure but it was something.

* * *

On the outskirts of Bryte, the sun had gone down and the moon began to rise. Teiaya approached Shinon, Uhnie and Gatrie “Who are you people?”

Shinon chuckled “I expected a thank you.”

“You’ll get no thanks from me. Why did you help us? Who are you with?”

“If you must know Mr. Rebellion Leader. We’re with the Greil Mercenaries.”

Teiaya narrowed his eyes “That name means nothing to me.”

Shinon smirked “Neither does yours. Or your rebellion.”

Before Teiaya could retort Gatrie cut in “We’re not from Zatuo or Hitenticul. Or anywhere else really. We came from a land called Tellius and there is this ridiculously long story behind it.”

“All you need to know is we didn’t help Benkanan. We helped you.” Uhnie stated.

Fyst joined them “I thank you three for all your help. Who knows what would have happened if-“

“You all would have died.” Uhnie said “Simple as that. Rebellion Leader here wanted to keep fighting. Not a smart move.”

“I wanted what was necessary. To destroy Benkanan.”

Shinon scoffed “Yeah well. That would be really hard to do with fifty arrows in your body.”

“Whatever it takes.”

Shinon narrowed his eyes as Kit spoke up “What do we do now?”

Teiaya looked away from the strangers “We can’t stay in Tow. We have to head for Dre, I have a hideout on the outskirts of Riskol. It’s far and out of the way, Benkanan won’t find us there.”

Whir looked to Fyst “What about us?”

Teiaya faced the older man “Indeed. What is the Iron Titan going to do?”

“We’re joining with Teiaya, right dad?”

Fyst remained silent as Kit continued “They attacked our home. Killed our people. Everything that Teiaya has been saying they would do.”

“She’s right.” Whir added. “They even tried to kill her. Your daughter. It may not be my place to say more but…”

As Whir trailed off Fyst looked to the few remaining Iron Titan soldiers that escaped with them. He could see most of them were angry. They wanted revenge. They wanted to fight Benkanan.

“There aren’t enough of us to stage anything elaborate. We’re going to have to double back to Bryte later and recruit the rest of them.”

“So…you’re in?” Ufernia asked.

“Benkanan made it personal. That is all.” Fyst then addressed Teiaya “But the Iron Titan follows my lead. I won’t have you leading my people into death traps and I certainly will not stand for you ordering them around in battle. That won’t happen again.”

With that Fyst walked away with Whir behind him, the Iron Titan forming up around him as Ufernia approached Teiaya “We have to let the others know that the meeting is moving…again.”

Teiaya sighed “Right.”

“Also. You need to-“

Uhnie cut off Shinon “Don’t worry. I talked to her already.”

Shinon looked at Uhnie “In the middle of battle?”

“If I have to repeat myself again I will. Won’t be happy about it though. I didn’t send anyone after you three okay? Sorry that happened but once again, I had nothing to do with it.”

Shinon crossed his arms while Uhnie put a hand on his shoulder “It’s fine. There are bigger things going on right now. We’ll worry about Hell Rain when we can.”

The marksman nodded as Kit spoke up “Hey, Teiaya. I could go out and find the rest of your people while you get everyone else to Riskol. You know how fast I am.”

Teiaya nodded “Right. Most of them should be heading to Bryte from Oeldehm and maybe Nevrez depending on what they were doing.”

“Kit!”

She turned to her father and waved him off “I’ll be fine! Don’t worry bout me!”

Addressing the group she nodded “See you all in Riskol.” With that she ran off, Teiaya once again facing the other three “So there. Ufernia once again assured you she had nothing to do with the Hell Rain nonsense. You three can leave now.”

“Not yet.” Shinon stated “There is a lot that is confusing about all this and we’d like some answers.”

Teiaya shook his head “You get none. Good day.”

“I’m sure you mean good night.” Gatrie stated, pointing to the night sky above them.

Teiaya narrowed his eyes as Uhnie spoke up “If Benkanan is really as bad as they looked just now then that is all the more reason for us to stay on. Ezak and Sutne were kind enough to let us know that a man we’re looking for: Zijo Oit is in command of Benkanan’s military.”

“Zijo Oit. Yes he was in Atro when the Crown Land was absorbed. What do you all want with him?” Teiaya asked.

“Long story.” Shinon stated “But we were let on early that he was bad news, this all just clarifies that small fact. So we need more info on Oit and Benkanan because we’re going to be paying that so-called Republic a visit and finding this guy.”

Teiaya shook his head “You are all truly foreigners if you believe the three of you can invade Benkanan.”

“Three of us? We’ve got a literal small army. Each of us is worth ten of you, maybe more.” Shinon stated while Gatrie muttered “Definitely more.”

The marksman gestured to the road ahead “So. Can we move now to this…Riskol?”

Teiaya looked at the three then to Ufernia “They did help us out.”

Adjusting his hat the dark man nodded “Fine.”

Turning away he stalked off, signaling Fyst. The group began moving, Uhnie, Shinon and Gatrie following Ufernia. “So Hell Rain went for you three and you’re all still alive? What was that all about?”

Uhnie sighed “Like I said, he marked us. He wants to play with us. I’m not sure why us specifically but…”

“I already got a good mark on his position and firing style.”

Uhnie, Ufernia and Gatrie looked at Shinon, the first asking “How?”

“I’ve grown used to getting shot at. After I took the first arrow I traced where it came from and spotted him just as he got me with the second one. You can learn a lot from where an archer sets up shop and how quickly he can attack. I’ll have a better read on him if we meet again.”

Ufernia whistled “Now that’s impressive.”

“Don’t praise him, it just inflates his ego.” Uhnie stated, Gatrie laughing “That much is true.”

Shinon rolled his eyes before looking straight ahead at Teiaya’s back. The Rebel Leader was far too angry to lead anything but Shinon knew his own bullheadedness would not match with the man. If his Rebellion was to succeed he needed to have sense talked into him.

_“Where are Ike and Soren when you need them?”_

* * *

_The Fledgling Democracy of Dre_

_Oceanside Riskol_

Moon well overhead found Soren’s group just arriving in Riskol. It was much like Nevrez in being a port town but far smaller by comparison. Seeing the darkness above Leah spoke “Are we sure it isn’t too late to get some help?”

Cadeera turned “I think we’ll be fine, we just need to locate a dock hand or maybe even the foreman and have a chat. Once we explain…or rather, you explain what it is you want we can go from there.”

The woman in lead began guiding them towards the port as Mia fell into step near Titania “Hey.”

The older woman looked to her “What is it Mia? You’ve been a little…antsy since we left Oeldehm.”

“You could tell?”

Titania chuckled “I’m sure anyone could tell.”

“Well…I didn’t want to come off as someone prying into someone else’s business. But seeing as you are a close friend of mine and…”

Mia sighed before looking at Titania “Why are you avoiding him?”

Titania cleared her throat and looked away “I don’t want to talk about this now.”

Mia crossed her arms “Titania. I had that whole chat with you about how wrong it is for you to deny yourself this. To turn away from it, ignore it. I wanted to help you allow yourself to feel. I wanted to help you like you helped me and it’s pretty clear that I failed in that.”

Titania shook her head “No you didn’t. I heard every word you said and I appreciated it…but in the end I just…I can’t do this to him. I can’t.”

Before Mia could speak she was cut off “And above all, now is not the time for this. For my…feelings…we have something much more important that we must do.”

Titania looked from Mia to the others, Soren and Cadeera in front and Leah and Zihark behind that pair. They were chatting with each other nonchalantly, clearly unaware of what was being discussed.

“Titania. You made sure Ike always had you along before and here you are as far away from your partner as possible. If anything, continuing to ignore this and not talk about it to anyone is going to affect you much more when we have to face Oit and whatever else is coming down the line.”

Mia put a hand on her shoulder “And you aren’t doing anything terrible by feeling this way. Stop thinking of yourself like a bad person you know that you aren’t. Everyone knows that you aren’t.”

Titania closed her eyes and released a heavy sigh as Mia continued “When you see him again. Talk to him.”

Titania just whispered something far too low for Mia to hear but she hoped it was something good.

At the front of the group, Soren looked to Cadeera “Was it wise to leave Tyse behind?”

The woman shrugged “He’ll be fine. We both meant it when we said he hasn’t attacked anyone since me. I don’t leave him alone as much anymore but he never seems to have the desire to go out and harm anyone else.”

“He honestly seems very taken with you.”

Cadeera blushed at that “I know…but I am also very much in love with him. Surprising isn’t it? To find the man you were looking for in such a situation.”

Soren raised an eyebrow as she continued “I mean, you all came looking for someone who very well could have been a bad person, a vampire just like all the others you killed and instead you found one in the midst of cleansing himself, apologizing to you directly and who is…well…in a relationship.”

Soren chuckled “I didn’t expect him to let anyone in given Klein’s description of how lost and in pain he was after escaping the order but I suppose all of us can be granted a second chance. You certainly seem attached to him.”

She smiled “Of course I am. There is nothing about him I don’t love.”

“And you don’t hold that against him?”

She noted that Soren gestured to her scar, she absentmindedly traced it and shook her head “I don’t…I’m too good of a person, sad as that might sound.”

“I wish I was born a good person.”

Cadeera laughed at that “I may not know you well Soren but I can see that you are a good person. Even if you weren’t at birth you became one and that’s what matters.”

“Yeah Soren.”

The pair turned to Zihark and Leah the latter speaking “You helped me along back in Hitenticul when you didn’t have to. I was dead weight but you let me see that I could be far more, far better than that…and I’ll always appreciate that.”

Zihark smiled “And you are one of our biggest assets. No one has your skill in magic and no one has your mental clarity. You aren’t just a good person, you’re a dear friend.”

Soren looked down at that “Thank you. Both of you.”

Zihark and Leah nodded to him, the former speaking up “You’ve left behind that dour self of yours long ago. Worry about who he was no longer.”

“Just be the man you are now.” Leah finished.

Soren sighed “It amazes me how much I need them all to remind me of that. It’s too easy for me to get lost in my past some times.”

Cadeera put an arm around him “Well then it’s good that they’re there to knock some sense into you.”

Seeing the docks and a few men and women still at work the group came to a stop with Leah asking “So, how do we do this?”

“I’ll handle the talking for now. Once we find the one in charge then it’s your turn.” Soren nodded to Cadeera and the group moved forward, Cadeera breaking off from them and chatting with a few of the dock workers. After a few minutes she continued down the docks and gestured for them to follow.

Near the last ship on the dock stood a tall man in a brown jacket with matching brown hair. He tapped a pencil to his chin before scratching a few more notes onto his clipboard. Satisfied he turned to leave and noted the people heading his way. Seeing his face clearer they noted that he was on in his years, even so his eyes watched them all very carefully.

He crossed his arms as the woman in front nodded to him “You’re the dock foreman Sef Ferth right?”

“That I am. What do you all need with me?”

At that point Soren spoke up “We’re actually hoping to see some records on ships that came to this port about five months ago.”

The foreman tilted his head “You all looking for someone?”

Soren nodded “It’s very important. We believe that the two men who came here could present a danger to the whole of this country.”

Sef cracked a smile before shaking his head “You expect me to believe that? Why would you all have this information and bring it to me? We have a council here, they can move the city guards out and find these people faster than you lot can. If it’s really such a threat I recommend going to the people in power.”

“We’d rather handle this ourselves.” Mia stated “We aren’t joking when we say the men we’re looking or are dangerous.”

Sef nodded “I know true dangers. I’ve experienced it. I left Hitenticul because of it.”

“You’re from Hitenticul? That’s actually where we came from.”

Sef narrowed his eyes as Soren continued “In fact. The mission we’re on was asked of us by the King of a foreign land called Thyremog and the Five Pieces of Hitenticul. It’d be a great service if you could help us out.”

The older man let loose a heavy sigh and shook his head “I can’t just pull records from five months ago and give it to strangers who claim they’re on a diplomatic mission, do you all have any proof of this?”

“I’m afraid we don’t.” Titania stated “I’m usually the one on everyone about paperwork and such. We probably should have asked the Pieces for something. I understand how hard this must be for you to justify-”

“Then you know why my hands are tied. Look I’ll talk to the council about it in the morning and get things moving. I’m sure you understand we have a process for a reason.”

Soren sighed “We were afraid of that…but I suppose tomorrow is better than never. Would you mind if we gave you the details now?”

Sef shrugged “Go ahead.”

“The ship left from Hitenitcul. Quadnis’ Pier 3 specifically and again this was five months ago. It landed here, we don’t know at which pier. The two men who were on it that we are looking for are named Zijo Oit and Norad Jyuugo.”

The foreman narrowed his eyes “Zijo Oit…”

Scratching the back of his head he nodded before entering his office while muttering “Norad Jyuugo.”

The group looked to one another with Zihark shaking his head “Guess there isn’t much we can do.”

“We knew we would be walking into something like this.” Leah added.

Mia let out a long yawn before rubbing her eyes “We should get some rest…it’s been a day…”

Soren nodded “We didn’t get much after leaving Oeldehm. We also need to find a way to get in touch with Ike and let him know about this.”

Zihark looked around as Cadeera stepped past him “I did see an inn a few buildings back. We’re going to have to wait for this whole process to go through anyway.”

The group began moving away with Mia leaning against Soren, the sage smiling at her and putting an arm around her.

Titania watched them for a bit before looking away and sighing.

“You alright?”

She turned to Cadeera who was next to her, watching her. “Yes. Why do you ask?”

Cadeera shrugged “I don’t know…you just look…sad.”

Titania gave the other woman a weak smile “I’m not.”

“Well you look it. I just want to assure you that everything will work out. This isn’t a dead end just a small wall. We’ll get through it.”

Titania noted the other four getting farther away before looking back at Cadeera “Do you worry that you and Tyse may be…looked at oddly?”

Cadeera tapped her chin “I’m not worried at all. Tyse on the other hand…he knows he’s not a monster but he sure doesn’t look like the rest of us right? It worries him that people will assume he has me against my will and that they’ll try to do something about him. I can understand why he’s worried but the sooner we get out there the sooner we can show everyone that we’re just as hopelessly in love as any of the other couples around.”

“You really aren’t concerned?”

Cadeera shook her head “I love Tyse. I have nothing to be concerned about.” With that the woman gave Titania a large smile. Titania gave her a smaller one in return before looking away and letting her mind work.

* * *

 

Back in his office, Sef sat near the passenger records. After a few seconds he opened one up. These strangers he just met…how did they know that name? Was that man really _here_? He had to know.

* * *

_Road to Bryte_

Mertre ended up sleeping the night away and quite a good portion of the day. She apologized profusely after waking up but Ike and Ranulf told her it was alright.

“Bryte is not going anywhere.” Ranulf stated with a smile. Mertre nodded to him and Ike before they stepped out onto the road and began their trek.

Now the very dark night had fallen around them and Mertre was quite amazed at how refreshed she felt. “I really do think we’ll make it to Bryte tonight. I feel like I can go quite a distance. Thank you both for your insistence that I slow down for a bit.”

 “If you had seen yourself you would not have argued with us.” Ranulf stated.

Mertre chuckled brushing her hair from her face only for it to fall back in front “I don’t see myself as incredibly vain but I imagine you to be right, I must’ve looked terrible.”

“As terrible someone so beautiful possibly could.”

Mertre looked to Ranulf and shook her head “I uh…thank you, Ranulf.”

She started to say something else but thought better of it. As the three continued on their way she looked over to Ike who despite being so close to them seemed to be…not there. She leaned towards Ranulf and whispered “Is he alright?”

“Hm?”

“He seems…lost.”

Ranulf shook his head and laughed “You hear that Ike? Even she can pick up on it. This is why you have to get all this off your chest. Seriously, not only will you feel a lot better but you also won’t be giving off that confused vibe that everyone seems to be picking up on.”

Ike looked at the two “I heard you before Ranulf. We were in the middle of it and then…”

The man cast a glance at Mertre who lowered her head “I know I cut into your search for-“

“That isn’t it.” Mertre looked back up “Oh…then…I’m sorry if I got in the way of anything else. That was not my intention.”

“Believe me, I know. It’s just that…in that moment I felt that I could actually do it. Now that I’ve been forced to stop and think…”

Ike shook his head as Mertre brought a hand to her chest “Oh my. I must have cut into something very important. I am truly sorry Ike.”

As the man remained silent, Ranulf leaned towards Mertre “He’ll be fine. He’s just new to this whole ‘love’ thing.”

“Love?”

Ranulf nodded “Oh yeah. Seeing how he is acting now I am confident in saying that he is head over heels in love. We were about to go see the woman he fell for so he could tell her.”

Mertre gasped “Oh no! I’m so sorry!”

“There is no way you could have known that and we were the ones that insisted on helping you out despite the fact that we were in the middle of something. He’ll see her again soon enough and if not I’ll drag him over to her. Ya hear that Ike! I’ll drag you by the cape to her if I have to!”

Ike scoffed “Some friend you are.”

“It’s for your own good Ike.”

As the other man rolled his eyes, Ranulf signaled for Mertre to lean in closer “Remember how we said we don’t know how not to help people?”

Mertre nodded as he continued “Well the land we’re from, Tellius…it wasn’t exactly war-torn but it also wasn’t the most peaceful place. Ike over there is the leader of the Greil Mercenaries, the core group of fine ladies and gents who saved that land quite a few times.”

“A mercenary group? That’s it?”

Ranulf smirked “Pretty much. Granted it grew pretty big throughout the wars. More and more people from all walks of life joined our effort but as I said, it all started with a small Mercenary group.”

Mertre nodded “And as that group you saved your home and foreign lands you never even knew existed?”

“Oh yeah. Apparently saving our home from mad men and a crazed Goddess wasn’t enough for us. We had to spread our caring ways everywhere.”

Ranulf laughed at his own joke as Mertre’s eye went wide “I’m sorry…did you say…a Goddess?”

Ranulf nodded prompting the woman to look over to Ike who responded with “It’s true.”

She couldn’t help but laugh “It makes all of my problems seem so…miniscule by comparison. The moment I saw you two I knew you were seasoned but…I would never have thought…”

“No one would ever think it possible to do battle with a thing of creation but we did and even more amazing we lived to tell about it. Some days I just get lost in thought about that crazy war…”

After a short silence, Ranulf shook his head and smiled at the woman “But enough of that ancient history and back to what I was saying. Ike over there has an ever faithful second in command named Titania.”

“Ranulf.”

Ignoring him, Ranulf proceeded. “She’s served faithfully at his side since he became our leader. A pillar of strength and I want you to understand, to get such a good image in your head of her so that you can clearly see how silly Ike is being about all this. Titania is very tall, she has long red hair, she’s extremely strong and gifted with a brilliant mind. She’s confident, caring and-“

“Beautiful.”

Ranulf and Mertre looked to Ike who came to a stop. “I mean-“

Sighing he brought a hand to his head as Ranulf laughed, Mertre chuckling next to him “It does seem like you care for her, Ike.”

The man looked away as Ranulf nodded “He does. He tried to brush it aside citing how long they’ve known each other which I always thought was a good thing. In addition he said some random stuff that he believes would present problems like age difference and the thoughts of strangers but through it all I could tell that my buddy was just being difficult.”

“I’m not being difficult those things just concern me…”

Before Ranulf could counter, Mertre spoke up “Ike.”

The man turned to her, unaware of how closely she was examining his face. She smiled “I may have just met you but I can see it in your eyes. You really should just tell her.”

Ike looked away as she continued “Regardless of what you think the problems are I’ve seen couples of all shapes and sizes in love. They don’t care who they are, where they’re from, how old they are or anything. Nothing can stop the two people who love each other from being together.”

The three had stopped walking, both men looking to Mertre as she smiled at Ike “Love is a beautiful thing, Ike. I know it can’t repay you for guiding me all the way to Bryte but I would like to help you in this case by saying this: tell her how you feel.”

After a short silence, Ike let out a long breath, a small smile coming to his face before he resumed walking. The other two following with Ranulf putting an arm around Mertre and smiling “I’ve been trying to tell him the same thing.”

“I guess this just needed a woman’s touch.” Mertre replied, her and Ranulf sharing a laugh.

“So Mertre, now that we’ve shared a bit of ourselves. Would you kindly tell us why you need to meet with this Teiaya?”

Mertre looked at Ranulf “If the only problem you two have right now is Ike’s relationship issues. Then you two really shouldn’t be seeking to get involved in what I am doing. Just enjoy the better sights of Zatuo.”

Looking to Ike she continued “Fall in love. Leave this for others to take care of.”

“As good as that sounds. You know that we’re already in it.” Ike stated “Thanks for your concern Mertre but we can’t let things go. We never learned how. We have to find Oit.”

She smiled “I assumed as much…Teiaya can explain everything much better. All I can say is that my home has been taken and the ones who want to free it can’t and the people who can rise up for it won’t. Above everything I just want my home to be free.”

“Well you can count on us to help you, but especially me. It’s about time I got my own shining moment.” Ranulf stated, winking at Mertre who smiled back.

“Mertre!”

The three came to a halt as a woman ran right at them, passing by Ike and tackling Mertre in a powerful hug “Darlin, what in the world are you doing out here!?”

“Kit!” Mertre hugged her back as Ike approached “Kit?”

“She’s the friend I mentioned.” Mertre answered as Kit pulled away and looked at Ike and Ranulf “So…what’s going on here?”

“These two fine gentlemen were taking me to Bryte so I could speak with Teiaya.”

Kit looked at them again “Are they…with us?”

Mertre shook her head “No. They’re just lending me a hand. Vexx has been chasing me since I left Atro.”

Kit sighed “Of course he has. Darlin, you sure as heck can talk with Teiaya but ya better be aware of what he’s gonna say.”

As Mertre nodded Kit looked at the other two, Ranulf speaking “We don’t mean to intrude but we’d actually like to hear about what’s going on.”

“Normally I wouldn’t be too keen on having strangers taggin along. I mean no offense its just…we’re a careful bunch.”

“That much is evident.” Ranulf commented earning a nod and small apology from Kit “But after what happened in Bryte…there is safety in numbers.”

Ike crossed his arms “What happened?”

The four heard a screech and looked up as a wyvern came down, two men hopping off, the bigger one calling out “Mertre! Kit! Move! We’ll take care of this!”

As they aimed their weapons at Ranulf and Ike, the Laguz prepared to strike only for Ike to speak up “Hyte? Enri?”

The first man peered closer at Ike “Hm? Oh…Ike?” His eyes then moved to Mertre and Kit before looking back “Why are you here?”

“Funny. I was going to ask that as well. Last I heard you two were heading somewhere else.”

Hyte took off his helmet as Enri straightened himself up and patted Hikea’s head. The knight then sighed before speaking “We were meeting with someone in Oeldehm only to be redirected to Bryte. We were on our way there when Hikea sniffed familiar scents. Once we were sure it was allies and strangers we assumed the worst. We apologize.”

Hyte crossed his arms “Unless you were planning something. No offense but the odds of a stranger I just met being with these two women specifically…”

Ike raised his hands “I swear I have no clue what any of you are a part of though I could make one very good guess.”

Everyone fell silent as Ike spoke “That thing that happened in Atro. You were all involved in it and from what little Mertre said it seems that all of you want to organize a movement to take back Atro from Benkanan. A rebellion.”

Following another short silence, Hyte sighed and nodded “That’s pretty much the short version of it…what I don’t understand is why you seem to want to be involved in this as well.”

Enri nodded “Hyte is right. Why?”

Ranulf crossed his arms “We’re looking for a man named Zijo Oit and Mertre is clearly familiar with the name, Teiaya as well from what she said so we figured we could closer to Oit by helping her out.”

Ike narrowed his eyes. He saw something flash through Hyte’s face as soon as Ranulf said the name Zijo Oit. While he couldn’t read Enri he imagined that the man knew the name as well. “Hyte. Enri. When I asked you two back in Nevrez about Oit you were both fairly adamant that you didn’t know the name. What changed?”

Enri shook his head “Nothing.”

Hyte nodded to Ike “Nothing changed we always knew who he was its just…we just saw you as a random civilian. A foreign stranger. The fact you knew the name Zijo Oit was odd enough but after speaking with you that day…I didn’t want to drag a stranger into this whole mess.”

Ike couldn’t help but chuckle “I’ve been in that situation. But we need to know about Oit and whatever it is he is planning because trust us, we know he is involved in something terrible.”

“They’ve been very helpful and friendly. We can definitely trust them.” Mertre stated, Hyte and Enri nodded to her as the woman looked to Kit “By the way, why aren’t you back in Bryte? You seemed to be-“

Snapping her fingers Kit jumped “Right! Our Bryte Tavern! We were attacked by those darned Benkanan rats who were led by Ezak and Sutne! Teiaya and my dad escaped with a part of the Iron Titan!”

Hyte looked at her “What!?”

Mertre shook her head “Already? How?”

“No idea honestly but thanks to three lovely strangers we made it out. Teiaya sent me out to find the rest of his gang and tell em that we’re all on a trip to his hideout on the edge of Riskol.”

Ranulf turned to Ike “Three strangers…you don’t think?”

“Did you get their names?” Ike asked. Kit nodded “Yeah, a sour man named Shinon, a fiery woman named Uhnie and a charming man named Gatrie.”

Ike smiled “Those are our people.”

Hyte’s eyes widened “Bullshit.”

Ranulf laughed “We aren’t kidding. Those are our comrades.”

As Hyte shook his head, Ike addressed them “If Shinon, Uhnie and Gatrie are headed for Riskol then we’ll stick with you and head there as well. I trust you all know the best route.”

Mertre pointed at Kit “She runs all over the nation. She knows every route.”

“That’s true! Enri.”

The man looked at her “Yes Kit.”

“Would you be so kind as to hop on your wonderful wyvern and find the other three? You and Hikea can do it much faster than I ever could.”

Enri bowed “Of course. Hikea?” The wyvern nodded and let out a low growl as Enri mounted him. “I’ll be back. Be careful.” With that Hikea screeched before flapping his wings and shooting off into the night sky.

Kit gestured for everyone to follow her and started walking as Hyte fell in step next to Ike, letting out a heavy sigh “Do you know anyone good at math?”

Ike smirked “I know a guy.”

“Good because I have to know what the odds are for all this shit.”

Ranulf laughed at that “You and I both.”

* * *

_Benkanan Republic_

_Benkanan Keep_

“Commander Oit.”

Turning the man spotted Wesa Nee approaching with a letter. The man bowed and handed it to him. Reading the letter quickly he couldn’t help but smirk “I see…”

“What is it, sir?”

“Nothing to be concerned with. Is the army ready?”

“Yes.”

“Then have everyone begin marching. Immediately.”

Wesa stood up and walked off as Unotch appeared near Oit “Is it really no concern?”

“Ezak and Sutne lost the rebels in a tunnel beneath Bryte. They’re gone.”

Unotch laughed “That’s no concern? So I’m guessing you know where they are?”

Oit faced the other man “Not at the moment…but I’m not worried because soon I will once again be able to pinpoint them. This rebellion is ending as I said, there is no doubt of that.”

“I’ll take your word for it. By the way…Heydhar, Yakaan and the Blood Watch are all set to move.”

“Will you be joining us for once Unotch?”

The archer shrugged “If you really are telling the truth and we will be finding the Rebels then yes. I’ll be there with you all set to kill them all.”

With that Unotch departed to join with the rest of the Demon Triad while Oit stood on the balcony and watched the moon. Another man approached him from behind and he allowed a grin to form “I see two days before this all wraps up.”

“…and then you will be back on task? We’ve already spent far too much time here, we have to head back to Ymarkteg soon. Our Lord-“

“I know what the mission was Jyuugo. I’ve changed it…the results of this will be far beyond what our Lord expected when he first sent us out. Surely you have to see what I’m doing? You have to understand the benefits of chaos and these ancient weapons.”

Jyuugo crossed his arms as Oit continued “By the way. If it is truly bothering you there is nothing stopping you from returning to Ymarkteg and completing the mission. I’m sure our Lord has lost a bit of patience in at least one of us.”

“The letter.”

Oit felt his pocket and laughed before facing Jyuugo who held the very same letter Oit read just a few moments ago.

“Commander Oit, sir. The rebels led by Teiaya Ute including a portion of the Iron Titan has escaped through a tunnel beneath their Tavern. It is unknown where they’ve gone but we are planning on dispatching search units all over Tow to find them. Also of note, the Rebellion was being aided by three strangers who are not of Zatuo origin. We may have accidentally let them know about your position as our commander and they seemed very interested in that. We both apologize but we had no idea who they were aside from people interested in Teiaya Ute though in the end it seemed to be for the very opposite reason that we imagined. They joined with the Rebels and escaped with them, an archer, a man in heavy armor and a fast and lethal woman. We do not know where they came from or why they’ve allied with the Rebellion or why they want to know more about you but they are very interested in that and Benkanan in general. We apologize again for speaking your name. Sincerely, Ezak Roun and Sutne Palk.”

Oit laughed and rolled his eyes as Jyuugo stared at him “Strangers. Warriors from another land have come to know _your_ name Oit. This is no laughing matter!”

“So what? I should be worried?”

“What if they know what it is we are doing? What if they are out to stop our Lord’s plan? To destroy any possibility of the Blank Slate coming to pass? What then?”

Oit shrugged “What then indeed…Jyuugo, the lack of faith you have in our Lord is astonishing.”

Jyuugo spat “This isn’t a joke Oit. They know about you. They may very well know about me as well. We have to leave Zatuo right now, complete our assignment. Let this land destroy itself or save itself…that matters not when the time of the Blank Slate comes upon us.”

“As I said before Jyuugo. If you want to go back to Ymarkteg. Go. My destiny…is here.”

With that, Oit walked past Jyuugo and descended. The man stood on the balcony, arms crossed and watched Oit, the Demon Triad and his Blood Watch leave the Keep grounds, main gate opening and closing behind them.


End file.
